


My Good Boy

by Samanddeanfan1



Series: Baby Boy [1]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, M/M, Underage - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 07:18:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 40,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7304845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samanddeanfan1/pseuds/Samanddeanfan1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where slavery is an established practice. Jensen, a widower and father of 3, has always worked hard to provide for his family. When his youngest son starts school, he knows it is time to start looking for someone to help him around the house. Can he find more than just a trained slave to help him raise his children?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. notes

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2016 spn_j2_bigbang  
> Link to [art at LJ](http://sammycolt24.livejournal.com/13036.html)

Written for the 2016 spn_j2_bigbang

Fic title: My Good Boy  
Author name: samanddeanfan1  
Artist name: sammycolt24  
Genre: AU slave!fic  
Pairing: Jared/Jensen  
Rating: Mature  
Word count: 40K  
Warnings: slave!fic, world building, Jared is 16, non-con concepts, hurt/comfort, angst  
Summary: AU where slavery is an established practice. Jensen, a widower and father of 3, has always worked hard to provide for his family. When his youngest son starts school, he knows it is time to start looking for someone to help him around the house. Can he find more than just a trained slave to help him raise his children?

A/N - this is my 1st BB so please go easy on me, friends.

To start out I have to thank my Alphas & cheerleaders - liliaeth, milly_gal, AKITA_INO , and Justin McRoberts. You guys helped keep me going when I was half way up this mountain and I just wanted to stop.

My beta reader, etrix, thank you for all of your work. You had so many awesome ideas and helped me expand my AU world. I wish I had found you about a month earlier... My fic would have been so much more complex. All errors remaining are either by my choice or my personality. Feel free to PM if you see any glaring issues. If you choose to continue reading, I hope you enjoy.

Please check out the wonderful art that sammycolt24 made for my little story. I had a blast working with her. She totally got my Jensen & Jared and I get goose bumps every time I look at her work. Link to [art at LJ](http://sammycolt24.livejournal.com/13036.html)

Link to Fic -  [Master Post @ LJ](http://samanddeanfan1.livejournal.com/15988.html)

                  [As a PDF thanks To: winchestersfan ](http://www.mediafire.com/download/uccnxkyt4pw34v4/My_Good_Boy_by_samanddeanfan1.pdf)


	2. arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am new to posting here, please let me know if you think I should include more tags

**"Dad, come quick.** **He made it, he's here," Jensen's 12-year-old daughter called to him from behind the curtain where she was looking out the family room window. He could hear the excitement bubbling in her voice.**

**Not to be outdone, his youngest added, "Daddy! Daddy! He's here! He's here! He made it. He made it," as he jumped out from behind the other curtain. "Just like you said! Can we go out now?"**

**Jensen replied calmly, as he walked into the room, "Thanks for letting me know. Are you ready?" He clapped his hands together, looked his kids** **over** **, and straightening Joshua's shirt, again. "Where is..."**

**"I'm here, Father. I just had to grab something but I'm ready now," he said as Jensen reached out to straighten his shirt too. "Father, please! I'm fine. No one is even going to be looking at me," he pleaded as he tried to move away**

**Jensen realized that, as a 14 year old, Jonathan didn't yet truly understand how the world worked. He didn't see the people who were plotting and secretly running the world. He just saw his father fussing over him. "Oh, you never know who may be** **watching."**

**Jensen turned to eye all three of his kids, "Remember that, OK? You must always be on the lookout. Be observant of what is going on around you and of who is near you."**

**He felt his son resisting the urge to roll his eyes, “This is very serious, Jonathan. There are people..." He stopped himself when he saw the three kids sharing their 'look who's worrying again** **' look.** **He tried to remind himself that they were young and just didn't understand how deceptive and underhanded some freemen could be.**

**Since he had worked hard to keep this part of life from them, he could only blame himself for their naïveté. As soon as Mary realized she was pregnant, they had discussed all aspects of their life and made plans for how to raise their family. It was important to both of them that their children not be surrounded by slave labor, especially when avoidable. They wanted their children to understand what it felt like to work hard to accomplish a goal and to be part of a team. They didn't want their children ordering others around but rather pitching in to help.**

**True the two older children were being exposed because they had friends with personal slaves but he carefully avoided stores that primarily utilized slave labor and made sure to never drive near the factories. He reasoned it was better this way. They didn't need to grow up with the daily reminders of what their world had grown into. He wanted them to respect everyone, not just those who the government still considered 'people'.**

**He forced himself to smile and relax. Everything would be fine. His kids were fine. Today was just for immediate family, so he tried to force old habits back. He didn't need to be looking over his shoulder or waiting for the other shoe to drop. He forced himself not to think about his wife, Mary, to not remember all they had tried to do to stop the ever-expanding slavery laws while in college.**

**Today was supposed to be a fun day. The children were getting their first slave today. It was supposed to be a day of celebration and joy, not worry and sadness.**

**He took a big breath and opened the door. As always, his kids were right; 'he' was here, along with the guard and delivery specialist that the company sent, and about half of the neighborhood. Some people were peeking out from behind curtains, imitating his two youngest. Others had decided take their** **dog** **s for a walk. What he loved were the ones who thought now was the perfect time to check their mailbox even though it was Sunday.**

**Jensen couldn't blame his neighbors for looking. Seeing a training facility truck was a big deal in this neighborhood where most people could not afford to keep a dedicated slave. That was one reason he had chosen to move to this suburb when Mary got sick. Slavery had always been very popular with the rich and everyone had experience working around slaves but few people, in this section of town, could make this type of commitment. Oh, they might rent party planning or entertainment slaves for a special event but Jensen's family was the first to be acquiring a domestic. And Jensen was making this permanent!**

**He had worked hard to find a job that would support himself and his kids. Unfortunately, it was because of that job that he now needed a slave. According to his contract, if he wanted a promotion he had to prove he could manage others. It was a 'status symbol' his boss said! Jensen needed it to prove how far he had risen within the company and how powerful that company was. The company had even listed it as a perk during his yearly bonus! They would pay the retail cost for a level 3 body slave, plus offer a stipend to cover of the standard recommend slave food & well-slave checkups for the first year. **

**Quite a deal, they claimed, compared to other companies. And to qualify for this bonus all Jensen had to do was allow the CEOs and visiting clients to enjoy his 'hospitality' a few times a year by hosting a get together where his new slave would perform and entertain.**

**Well, no way was he agreeing to that! If he was forced by company contract to own another human than he was going to do everything he could to protect that person. He took care when negotiating his new contract and was able to live with himself after. He would agree to buy a slave but he fought for and won the right to pay for it 'out of pocket'. This would allow him to classify that slave as a 'hands free slave', meaning that no one at work would touch his boy without answering to him and his lawyer.**

**Jensen pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Happy day - happy thoughts. That had to be his mantra.**

**Smile and act calm, come on Jensen, you can do this, pull yourself together, he ordered himself. The boy was going to be scared enough without being sent mixed messages. If he didn't want to overwhelm the boy, then he had to be extra calm. It was Jensen's job to set the mood, this would help the boy settle and learn his role.**

**Part of that role would be taking care of the children. Jensen loved his three children and spent as much time as he could with them. Like everything in his life, Jensen planned and worked hard to make it go smoothly.**

**He had buckled down in college to get a 'good' job so he could make a good life for his family. But for the next few years, that meant spending longer hours at the office, which meant he needed someone to stay at home and help the kids. Since his wife's death, he had been relying on babysitting services and family. But with this new potion that was no longer the best option.**

**Luckily, he had found a solution. He would use the personal slave the company said he had to get as a domestic. All he had to do was find the perfect boy to become an addition to his family.**

**Jensen had spent months looking for just the right boy. He developed clear ideas on what he was looking for and he even involved the children when he was close to a decision. They were a big part of his life and this new addition would be a big part of their life. Jensen wanted the children to buy into his version of what a slave could be rather than the world's limited view.**

**Anything worth doing was worth doing right, so after months of research he was ready. He was very happy this boy was perfect. Now, it was time for the boy to finally meet his new family.**

**Typically as the buyer, Jensen would have just driven to the Slave Acquisition and Procurement Center. Everyone just called it SAPc for short since freemen thought of the slaves as 'sad and pathetic fools'. Each local SAPc had an attached training facility where the inductees would 'learn their new trade'. The Centers routinely offered tours and private screening where buyers could look around and pick out a new domestic, personal, or specialty slave.**

**But that just didn't work for his family. Jensen didn't want to leave his kids out of this after making them such a big part of the decision. The problem was that there was no way in hell that he was bringing his kids inside that facility! He didn't even like to drive near that part of town.**

**Plus, Jensen had seen slaves who had been picked up that way, and it was rarely** **good.** **Even years later, the slaves were so skittish and afraid of being sent back. Some would even refuse to ride in cars unless threatened with retraining. He was not going to subject his boy to that. No way, not if he could help it. Since he was only ordering one slave and did not already have an account with the company, it had taken many discussions and an extra fee to secure this delivery but he was sure it was better for the boy...**

**Well,** **Jensen was sure until he opened his front door. Then he began to wonder... Would picking him up have saved him this stress?**

**From the doorway, he could see the boy shivering. Jensen wanted to hurry over to him and protect him but that had to wait... While making the arrangements Jensen had been told, repeatedly, that there was a 'process' that needed to be followed. Acquiring any type of slave required transferring ownership from SAPc to the new owner so there was a legal process that had to be attended to as well as several traditions.**

**First Jensen had to** **look over paperwork** **and then look over the slave. If he was satisfied with both, he could sign the paperwork and have his new slave take the oath. It was only after all of that had happened that he could offer the boy some clothes, if he chose, and bring him into his new residence.**

**In one quick scan, Jensen could tell that the guard was not happy with this unusually drop off. He was an older man with many years experience, who looked big enough to handle a full-grown man by himself. The guard was not being forceful, yet, but he was not quite gentle either. The way he touched the boy implied he expected the boy to try something and he was ready.**

**Jensen wondered how often the guard had been called out to retrieve an unwanted slave. Jensen had read that** **'** **pickups' rarely went easy. The returnees often fighting every step of the process and needing to be manhandled, sometimes even 'disciplined' before they could be retrieved. Even sadder, for Jensen, were the other times, when it was just a case of the guards hauling a badly bruised and barely conscious body out into the waiting van.**

**The problem right now, was that although his new boy was tall, he was just a boy. He was only 16 years old and so well trained that Jensen did not believe he would ever think of bolting or fighting. This was the slave's life; he had trained his whole life for this moment... meeting his first owner.**

**The boy had been taught from an early age that it was a privilege to serve and an** **honor** **to be chosen so young. So Jensen knew the boy would follow all of his training and do as he was told. He lived to serve.**

**Jensen could easily see how skinny the slave was probably from the rationed meals. The boy also lacked muscle tone even though he was probably getting a lot of exercise. Jensen would make sure that both of those things changed.**

**Jensen walked directly to the women who he assumed to be the Placement Case Manager that he had been told to expect. She stood back ramrod straight, impatiently watching the guard handle the slave, turning only at the sound of the door opening. Jensen noticed she was holding an impressively heavy clipboard. Jensen paused in front of her, introduced himself, and offered his identification. He wanted to get this over with and get the boy inside where he would be protected. Unfortunately, Jensen could tell right away that this was going to take a long time.**

**"Good morning, sir. I am very glad to meet you," the immaculately dressed woman reached out to offer her hand while she introduced herself and her partner cheerfully.**

**Jensen wondered if she got a commission based on the price of each sale, if so his insistence on a home delivery would earn her more than a typical pick up. That would explain why she was so much happier than her coworker who was stuck with the discipline and probable paid by the hour.**

**When he simply nodded, not returning** **her good cheer, sh** **e took the hint and began her presentation. Pointing to the slave with her pen, the PCM read from the clipboard she protectively held close to her chest, "I have the great pleasure of delivering to you the body slave you ordered. Identification number BSTX7191982M1. Does that sound correct, sir?"**

**The guard had the boy out of the van and kneeling at attention in the driveway. Like all new slaves, the boy was naked, making it easier for his new owner to verify that the item in front of him was the correct item ordered and still in 'near mint' condition. One difference with a home delivery was the addition of a sense-depriving hood. With the black leather** **hood still over** **the slave's face and a hand heavy on his shoulder, the guard nodded that the boy was ready for inspiration.**

**Jensen's knees ached in sympathy for the boy but he kept his face controlled and said nothing. This was the way it had to be. For now, he could do nothing.**

**In theory, having the slave arrive with nothing helped it** **adjust to** **its new life quicker because it was dependent on its master for all things. The owner was able to easily control the situation and set clear expectations for behavior thus setting the tone of all future interactions between the pair.**

**Jensen smirked to himself. Oh, yes, the tone was going to be set. After this meeting, there would be no misunderstandings as to what kind of owner he was. Over the next few days, the boy would learn all about his new** **expectations** **. Jensen felt bad that they were so different from the training center but he had cleared his schedule for the next week so he could be around to help the boy settle into this new life. Jensen was not worried; he was confident that he had chosen the correct boy.**

**At the nod, the woman showed Jensen the first paper and pointed to where he needed to sign. He tried not to roll his eyes but this was going to take so much time! She read certain sections to him and had him silently read others. It was a standard form, which he had already read over twice; plus he had his lawyer, Christian Kane, look it over. Now all he did was glance over them to make sure nothing had been added, removed, or changed. Once satisfied, he just signed them all.**

**Jensen's attention kept drifting over to his children who now stood beside him. How were they really taking this? They were good kids and now was a good time to bring this addition into their lives. He was sure of that. Between the three of them, they could handle the increased responsibility of having a slave.**

**Jonathan was great, strong, and silent; Jensen could tell he was planning something by the way he kept twisting the package in his hands.**

**Madelyn was doing OK, but Jensen could tell she wanted to reach out and hug the boy. He was going to have to be watchful of her smothering the boy to death with attention. They had already talked about her giving Jared space but,** **as her dad** **, he knew it took more than that to curb her natural enthusiasm for protecting people. She was so like her mother in that regard.**

**Then there was Joshua, Jensen chuckled silently to himself. The boy was looking everywhere, taking it all in and bouncing with excitement. He would be fine. They all would be fine.**

**Jensen pulled his thoughts back to the present. Once he had signed about half of the terms and conditions, the Placement Case Manager, or PCM, announced it was time to look over the slave. She took two steps toward the guard and nodded that he could take over.**

**"Well,** **sir, I can report that we had a quiet ride today," the guard said. "As you can see, the slave has arrived uninjured, needing only basic restraints, and is still in near mint condition." Just by walking out of the training center, Jared was already depreciating in value to the rest of the world.**

**Jensen translated the other comments to mean that the slave had not acted up thus resulting in the guard needing to discipline it. Not a shock there, his boy was well trained to follow orders.**

**Jensen knew he was supposed to walk around the slave to check out his back and look for any visual discrepancies between the catalog listing and the body presented today. It was also encouraged to discuss the slave's history now. Instead, he just nodded and motioned for the guard to continue.**

**Jensen wanted this over fast. He knew that Jared had been trained to remain still for hours when ordered to but he didn't want to trick or frighten the boy into behaving badly. This situation was already different from how slaves were typically trained to meet new masters. Jensen had no questions, he had memorized the boy's history & training, and he had nothing to add. The boy was just what he was looking for; Jensen would not be sending him back. He just wanted this over.**

**With an uncertain look to the Placement Case Manager, the guard continued, "Sir, there is paperwork to show his** **discipline needs.** **" He motioned to the woman who brought the correct form out to be signed. In the uneasy silence that followed, the man shuffled his feet, "sir, as advertised he is untested, would you like to check the area for..."**

**No! He definitely did not want to check the boy's virginity while his young children looked on, nor ever. He trusted the training center to protect their investments by keeping a close eye on their personal assistants; including having procedures in place so that the slaves were not visually injured close to sale day.**

**"No, that will not be necessary." He interrupted carefully, trying not to show too much care for the slave. "He is obviously the one I chose and he is in good condition. I am pleased." He said more for the boy's sake than the workers. Even if the boy could not hear the words, Jensen hoped he heard the tone of voice.**

**Jensen knew from his research that** **the hood** **the boy wore completely took his sight and voice. Jensen wasn't sure how much he could hear. He probably couldn't make out the individual words but Jensen hoped the boy could hear his warmth and calm demeanor. Patience.... Only a few more minutes...**

**"Sir, are you certain? You are, of course, within your rights to decline the offer but I must inform you that a refund will not be an option if you find out later..." The Placement Case Manager tried as Jensen interrupted her.**

**Jensen interrupted her, "I understand. Consider me informed. Do you need another signature to confirm that I have waived my right of inspection and I am taking my purchase 'as is'?" He said as professionally as he could.**

**She nodded and flipped pages,** **'no, he didn't need an extended trial period', 'no, he did not need the chains left on', 'yes, he had a collar chosen' and 'yes, it was with him for the oath taking'. Jensen initialed where she pointed. This was taking too long; if he did not hurry this up the boy and his children might think that there was a problem.**

**Finally, they were almost done. Here it is, the moment of truth. It was finally time to take the hood off and welcome Jared home.**

**"Alright, sir, thank you for your purchase and time today. If you have any other needs in the future, please call on our firm. We are always here to help, whether it is with retraining, advanced training, or finding a replacement. Our firm is sure to have something to fit your needs." She turned to the guard and nodded. She seemed relieved that her part was finally done.**

**The guard stepped up, in front of the kneeling slave. Jensen wished he could change positions with the man but this 'little dance' was set and could not be changed no matter how big of a fee he paid. They cited 'safety regulations and concerns' but he knew the real reason was control and them enjoying the dominance this position allowed them. It was the last time they could threaten those under them. No, they would not give that up. It was too much of a power rush for them.**

**Jensen hated that the man was so close to his boy. The first thing the boy saw should be him not that guard. He really wished his kids did not have to see Jared so dehumanized. Jensen also wondered how much training it had taken for the boy to remain so still.**

**True there wasn't much Jared could move. There were wide, gold-plated, metal bands around each wrist that were attached to a thick linked heavy chain around his waist, set high to be out way of any demonstration. He was kneeling in standard position 2, with his hands behind his back with and his fingers interlaced. If Jensen hadn't been watching the whole time he would have thought that they had been cuffed together at the wrist, to keep them in position rather than to just connected to the waist chain.**

**The boy also had gold shackles around his ankles. Jensen needed to remember to check the boy over carefully when they were finally inside. Kneeling, naked with his legs spread wide, on a paved driveway naked was one thing but to do it with shackles on his ankles? His knees must be hurting. Jensen hoped the skin was not broken. At least the boy wasn't wiggling, which would have pushed any little rocks deeper into his skin.**

**Jensen kept reminding himself that this would be over soon. All of Jared's chains were secured to D rings attached to the stiff, plastic collar around his neck. The collar was over 3 inches wide; Jensen was amazed that Jared could keep his head bowed so well. His boy was so good. He never once tried to raise his head. Jensen couldn't wait to take him inside and start protecting him.**

**"Are you ready with the collar, sir?” The guard asked, appearing eager to get this unusually delivery finished.**

**"No."**

**He did a double take, "What? I thought you said..."**

**"Yes, I have everything but before he can have the collar, we need to do the oath and before he takes his oath he needs to meet my family." Jensen said as clearly as he could and gestured to the children to step forward.**

**The Placement Case Manager also stepped forward. "Sir, is there a problem?"**

**"We are doing this my way!" Jensen said firmly, "That is why the fee was paid. Now, please be so kind as to step back. This is a family matter and it does not concern you." He glared at her and she did twitched. She glanced at her partner who took over trying to reason with this new owner.**

**"Sir, there are certain..."**

**"Yes, certain rules needed to be followed and they have been. Now, please, remove the hood or step back so that I may take over."**

**"Sir, I'm afraid.** **.."**

**From beside him, Jensen heard Jonathan mumbled to his sister, "Oh, you should be."**

**Jensen cut his son a look before continuing on, "I have signed the appropriate forms, and," he pulled the collar out, and waved it around. "I have this. Now, I have been trained in how to put on and take off his restraints. Do you want me to do your job for you or are you going to continue?"**

**Suddenly,** **a car** **raced into the driveway and all of the kids went running towards where it was parking. Christian Kane, their favorite person and Jensen's capable lawyer had finally shown up. Jensen smiled at the perfect timing. It would be easy to handle these two now.**

**His smile faltered when he noticed a new tenseness to the boy. The car had zoomed into the driveway really close to the kneeling slave. With his senses dampened, Jared had no idea what was happening.**

**Jensen rushed forward to comfort his boy but was intercepted bodily by the guard. "Sir, he is not yours until the collaring. You need to stand back. It is against the law for you to touch him yet."**

**Jensen shook himself free of the guard and looked to his lawyer. "Took you long enough! I thought I told you 11 am?" He said just barley controlling the anger he needed to redirect.**

**"You did but it is only..." he glanced at his watch and saw that it was nearly noon. Christian blushed and ducked his head. Jensen had repeatedly told him how important this day was and he was late. "Sorry. No charge?" He smirked as he disentangled himself from the older two children and swung Joshua up to his shoulders where the youngster would be out of the way. "So, what part are we up to? Did I miss the boring paperwork?" He said casually trying to lighten the mood.**

**"Yeah, good timing, it'** **s** **done** **. I** **'m waiting for the hood to be removed so that he can meet the children." Jensen turned and glared at the guard, "But there seems to be some kind of problem."**

**"Well,** **sir," the guard glanced at the woman hoping she would have the right words to explain to a high-priced lawyer why they were not finished yet. She shook her head nervously and pretended to be busy looking over the paperwork. "I think... we... are set." He stepped back in front of the boy and finished undoing the straps.**

**He tapped the slave on the forehead to tell him to close his eyes, then tapped under his chin to get him to lift his head up, and finally the guard tapped his cheeks to tell him to open his mouth so that the mouth piece could be taken out. Once the hood was off, the guard brushed the boy's hair out of his face before positioning the boy's head down and moving to stand directly behind him.**

**Jensen didn't like that the guard was still touched his boy but he knew better than to comment. Plus, he was busy looking at his boy. Jared was marvelous, so much better in person than in the catalogue. Jensen took a cautious step forward but made no move to touch the boy. He waited for the guard to speak the traditional greeting.**

**"Slave BSTX7191982M1, you are presented this day to your new master and owner. You will follow his orders and directives. You will be attentive to his needs. You will seek to help him in every aspect. You have been chosen and trained for this and will now begin your life with Master Jensen. You will not speak out of turn. You will respect all freemen. You will harm none."**

**The guard paused and nodded toward the children. Jensen hated that children were typically allowed to order slaves around but he nodded. "You will consider Master Jensen's children, an extension of your master and acknowledge them as such. You will follow their directions, insomuch as they do not counter your master's." Jensen had already talked to his children about this and they would only be making requests of Jared not issuing any orders. His children would not be raised like that!**

**The guard nodded to Jensen to take over. Now was when the boy would get his name and see his collar. Jared would get to look at his master for the first time. Unfortunately, for about half of the slave population now was also the last time they would ever have permission to look at a freeman. But that would not be Jared's fate. Jensen wanted to see his boy's eyes. After maintaining eye contact for a few seconds, Jared would accept his collar by reciting the formal oath and swearing his pledge of allegiance to his master.**

**At this point, Jensen was legally allowed, even encouraged, to touch the slave and to direct his attention. These touches were thought of as the first steps in training the slave to attend his new master. They were a way for the slave to learn his new master's touch, attitude, and individual needs. It was thought that the better a slave could 'read' his master, the better he could meet his needs and make the master's life easy.**

**Jensen had a very different take on those ideas but he did want the boy to learn about him. He wanted Jared to not be scared of his touch so with that in mind, he carefully walked closer. For all that, his boy was still playing statue, Jensen could tell when he was close enough.**

**The boy tensed slightly and his breathing slightly changed when he saw his master's boots. Jensen had chosen these expensive but comfortable boots with the dual purpose of showing the boy that he did not have to fear being kicked and that he was in a house with money so he wouldn't go hungry. He stopped the required distance and waited a count of 10 before reaching out toward the boy.**

**Before his fingers touched the boy's head, he pitched his voice low and said, "I am going to touch you but I will not hurt you." It was not what he was supposed to say and when he did touch the boy, it was not where he was supposed to touch him. But this was Jensen's rodeo now and no one would tell him how to treat his boy.**

**He gently placed his right hand on the boy's head. Soothingly, he ran his hand over the boy's hair and noticed the boy slightly lean into the hand. He forced his face to stay blank. He would celebrate later this sign of positive interaction and developing trust.**

**After a count of 60, he slid his hand down to the boy's cheek until he cradled Jared's chin gently in one hand. He was not gripping it, like was traditional. If the boy could have broken his training or had wanted to pull away, he could have easily. The point for Jensen was not to force his will on the boy but to make him to be part of his family.**

**Jensen smiled** **as he said the traditional phrases that allowed his boy to look up. Now came the fun part, giving the boy his name. Jensen had put a lot of thought into this; he wanted the name to be special. He was not comfortable with the 'traditional' slave names and a typical freeman sounding names would not work. Since all of the boy’s names in the family start with J, he limited his search to names that started with that letter. 'Jared' turned out to be the perfect name, it sounded regal enough to be a freeman name but was not a typical name for this area.**

**Once the boy had raised his eyes high enough to look Jensen in the eyes, Jensen deviated from the traditional words. "You are a good boy. You have behaved well today. I am proud of the service you have given to me. You will bring honor to me and my family by joining our household."**

**He paused to nod to the guard, letting him know that he was ready with the collar. For the ceremony to be authenticated the slave had to be without a collar for at least 15 seconds. In the old days, this was to show that the slave chose this life. Later, it was to dehumanize the slave by freeing him for a moment before re-collaring him for life.**

**Typically, the new owner would hold the slave still as the guard approached and removed the old collar. Then, the guard would take the slave, roughly, by the shoulders and the owner would say 'I name you (insert derogatory term)' while slamming on the new collar. The whole ceremony would be finished in less than a minute with the slave not being the wiser.**

**That was not how Jensen wanted this to happen. After the nod, the guard still walked up to the slave, and he still took off the old collar, but before he could roughly grab the boy to hold him in place, Jensen motioned him away. There was nothing the guard could do Jensen was now the owner of record. He had the control.**

**Jensen continued to look the boy in the eyes. He smiled gently. "You will answer to the name Jared. Before you swear the oath and get this collar there are a few people I would like to introduce." Still touching Jared's chin, he gestured for his two oldest children to come forward. "Jared, this is my family." He turned the boy's head so that he could see the two children.**

**"Yes, master, your family.”**

**"This is Jonathan, my oldest son."**

**"Hi, Jared. It's nice to meet you," the boy spoke as gently as his father had and was careful to make no sudden moves.**

**Jared knew that he was supposed to get permission before making eye contact or speaking to any freeman, even children. He did not know his master well enough yet to know if he had been given that permission when told the boy's name. He quickly looked up to his master seeking guidance and hoped he would not be in trouble this early in his service.**

**His master smiled, fingers still gently touching his chin, and nodded. "You have permission to look each of my children in the eye when appropriate, and to address them respectfully." He winked at the boy. "You are doing fine, Jared. I am proud of you."**

**The transport crew kept glancing around clearly troubled by what they were seeing. This was not the way masters were supposed to act.**

**Jared licked his lips, "Yes, master, as you say." Then he turned toward the boy who was only a few years younger than he was. Since he was given no specific terms to use, Jared relied of his training of how to address family members respectfully.** **"Hello,** **y** **oung** **master."**

**Then after sneaking a quick glance at the man who was still touching him he added, “Thank you for the warm welcome, it is nice to meet you."**

**While the PCM stood there too flabbergasted at the audacity of the slave to talk so freely, the male guard stepped forward to reprimand him but the lawyer sidelined him. Jensen had warned Christian last night of the changes that he had planned for the ceremony.**

**That was why Christian was here as the witness. Jensen wanted this to happen. He wanted the boy to be more than his programming. Jensen had carefully chosen this boy because he believed he could live up to that expectation. It seemed as if true to form, Jensen was right again.**

**Damn, Christian was happy for Jensen, the kids, and Jared but he had bet against Jensen and it looks like he was now out a $100. Damn, when would he learn... never bet against Jensen.**

**Jensen** **felt the boy tense when the guard moved so he shifted his hand back up to the boy's head, "Jared, great job following directions. I am very proud of you."**

**"Yes, master, following directions," he replied and calmed himself.**

**Jensen nodded** **, turned to his daughter, and motioned her forward. "Jared, this is Madelyn."**

**"Yes, m** **aster. Hello,** **little miss. It is nice to meet someone so beautiful."**

**She smiled at him as she danced over. Her dad had warned her not to touch him without permission yet so she walked over to hug her dad instead. "Hello, Jared, and thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you, also." Then she turned to her dad and whispered so that only the three of them could hear. "You're right, Dad, he is perfect. We’ll make sure he is so happy here."**

**Jared looked up to his master to see if he had heard her correctly.**

**Jensen nodded, reluctantly letting go of Jared so that he could reach for his youngest child. Taking him from Christian, he helped his son stand the correct distance in front of Jared, and then he crouched on one leg behind his son. This brought all three of them to the same level.**

**The slave fought his training, which screamed at him to be lower than his master always. He had trouble controlling a facial tick and was surprised when his master did not allow the guard to force him to the ground. Maybe things would be different here. He had spoken and not been hit. Now his master lowered himself to a slave's level and did not punish him for not going lower. It should not have mattered that it was difficult to move with the cuffs on, he was a slave... It was his job.... Then he heard his master talking to him... For how long had he been zoned out? Was he in trouble?**

**"I am going to touch you, Jared, but I will not hurt you." Even with the warning, he twitched when he felt the hand fall on his shoulder.**

**He braced himself for the hit that would come because he had reacted negatively to his master’s touch. 'Oh man, here it comes...'**

**"You are fine, Jared. We are almost through. You're doing great. Now, this is my youngest and most energetic child, Joshua."**

**Jared turned toward the boy. "Hello, little sir. How are you today?"**

**Jensen beamed. The boy was a natural with each child. They might have a few bumps as everyone settled in but this should work out like he planned.**

**"Hi, Jared. I'm good. Today is very exciting. We might have cake later. Do you like cake?" Jensen schooled his face to keep from smiling at his exuberant son and cautious slave. Jared had been a slave his whole life; living in that horrible facility, doing nothing but training, chances were slim that he had ever tried cake or any other sweets before.**

**But that would change. Jared was a part of this family now, which meant he would eat whatever they ate.**

**"I'm sure I will, if you think it is good, little sir."**

**"Oh, then you will love it. It is very good. I'm hoping it is chocola..." Jensen cleared his throat, to remind Joshua gently of what he was supposed to say. His son blushed then said, "I'm glad you're here," before going back to stand with Christian.**

**Jensen stood up and took a more formal position. It was time. "Now, Jared, what do you think of my family? Do you think this is somewhere you would like to live? Would you feel comfortable giving us your pledge of allegiance?" He knew this was not the standard speech but he wanted Jared to get used to being asked question. To know he could and should have an opinion.**

**The boy looked at him in confusion. Too much at once, Jensen, slow down. This does not all have to happen in one day. Keep this simple. "It is time for your pledge; if you are ready, Jared." He made sure to say the boy's name last to make it a suggestion, rather than at the beginning where it would be an order. He could tell right away when the boy caught on to the significance.**

**He started to nod but caught himself. "Yes, Master Jensen. I, Jared," he had to pause there to swallow the lump in his throat. He had a name! "Pledge to be a slave worthy of you, Master Jensen. I will follow all directions, spoken and unspoken, and do all in my power to make you happy and to make your life easy. I will follow commands given to me by you and your family. I will show respect to free people and remember to keep my tongue. If I fail in my task, I will present myself and welcome retraining. I live to serve, Master** **Jensen** **. Please, allow me the chance to honor your home and family with my service."**

**"Jared, I have heard and I acknowledge your pledge," Jensen responded. "I have faith that you will learn your place in this family and that you will be an honor to me, my family, and your heritage." He swiped the tear that was forming in the boy's eye. "Jared, with this collar, I claim you as mine." He was supposed to add a piece about, 'until I choose otherwise' but he left it out. There was no way he was willingly giving this boy up.**

**He could have added the old line about 'until I die' but there had been cases of slaves being killed once their master had died and Jensen was not risking that either. If he died first, Jared's ownership passed to his oldest son. If he was not at signing age yet, then Jared was be put in trust with Christian until such time as Jonathan was old enough for the courts to recognize him as a master. All of the necessary documents had already been filed.**

**He showed the collar to Jared, who trembled with excitement. It was a real collar. With one glance, he could tell how expensive it was. This collar had been exquisitely made by an artisan, using only the best leather and gold materials, it was not something just 'picked up' in the slave section of the local mall.**

**The dark brown collar was barely 2 inches wide and would sit low on his neck rather than being tight against his throat, as was traditional with the facility collars. Another difference was the outer layer. This one had been specifically designed by the creator. It was easy to see the detail work along the edges, the stylized placement of the 'D' ring for his leash, and the decoratively added braided rope. Most collars today were not personalized; they were generic colorful shiny plastic, well-worn leather hand-me-downs, or even just a heavy chain.**

**As he stared at it, mesmerized, Jensen turned it slowly to show him the front where his name had been added. The cursive letters proof to the world that he was wanted. That he had a name. Jared broke his training to lick his lips and slightly nod his head but it felt right to acknowledge the wonderful gift that his master had given him.**

**Once the collar was buckled on, Jensen straightened it and then took a step back to admire the wonderful sight. Jared could not believe the difference between the 2 collars. This one was so light. And the inside was so soft! It did not hurt his throat at all. But most importantly, it made him feel loved and cherished, not trapped. Was this what safety felt like?**

**Jensen smiled at him for the count of 30 then turned to the guard. "It is done. He is mine. Get those chains off of him."**

**"Sir, with all due respect, we are to see the slave inside and then we can remo..."**

**"He is mine! He has made his pledge and will obey my orders. We do not need you any longer."**

**"Sir, with all due respect, it is for your safety that these regulations are in effect."**

**"Are you planning to harm me, my family, guests, or neighbors, Jared?"**

**Jared blanched, "No, Master! Never! I...." He stopped at Jensen's upraised hand.**

**"Will you follow all of my directions, Jared?"**

**"Yes, master."**

**Jensen turned back to the delivery crew. "Do you doubt that I have complete control over my slave?"**

**"Sir..."**

**Taking a quick step forward, Christian took over smoothly, "I suggest you answer the question. But first let me introduce myself. Christian Kane, I am Jensen's lawyer and acting witness. I have seen him make the offer and the boy accept. Your procedures exceed the law and were put in place to help your clients. And to protect the company from prosecution, if the slave acted out at the last moment. That does not seem to be the case here." He turned to Jensen, "if they leave now, and Jared does something, who will be at fault?"**

**Jensen straightened up and relaxed, he could tell what Christian was doing. More importantly, he could tell it was working. "I will take full responsibility because I was not in control of MY slave."**

**"As the witness, that is good enough for me. You can write it down and have him sign it if you think you need to cover your asses."**

**Jensen added with a smirk, "You probably even have a form I could sign."**

**The two guards considered the matter. This whole case had been wonky from the start but he did seem in control and the slave did seem extra docile. The Placement Case Manager considered her clipboard and shuffled her papers around. Finally, she found the form she as looking for and pulled it out. "If you are sure that our services are no longer needed, you need to sign this waiver. It states that we are taking your word that you have made no changes to the slave's space since your house was authorized. It also states that we left, per your request, before securing the slave inside the domicile."**

**"Yes, that is perfect. I agree. Here,” he said handing the signed papers back. “Now go, this is a family gathering and you are not needed." He signed briskly then turned back to his family, clearly dismissing the delivery people.**

**"Thank you, sir. It has been a pleasu..." She tried to finish her speech as her partner removed the shackles.**

**Jensen let her talk and motioned to Christian to take over talking with her because he needed to concentrate on his boy. The guard was struggling with how to remove the ankles shackles. Typically, the slave had been moved inside when he attempted this so instead of kneeling at attention, they were either laying down or standing up. Some new owners simply bought the chains and left them on.**

**It was acceptable and even encouraged that some form of chains be kept on the slaves for the first 24 to 48 hours after a transfer. If that was not an option, the next suggestion for the safety of others and to 'ease the slave into their new life' was to leave them in their 'slave space' for the same amount of time. Jensen couldn't understand why they needed these safe guards if the slaves were so well trained. All he knew was it wasn't happening here!**

**"Detach the chain from his waist." Jensen ordered calmly. Jared never made a sound as he let the guard moved him around, as he needed too to detach the chain. Jensen was so proud of his boy. "Now, undo his wrist cuffs." When this was done, he silently ordered the guard back with a flick of his wrist. "Joshua, bring me the pillow. Jared, I want you to carefully stand up, then sit your bottom, carefully, on this pillow, with your feet flat on the ground, right here. Do you understand?"**

**"Yes, master. Sit carefully on pillow, feet flat." He replied simply and looked at the spot so that his master would know he had understood all parts of the directions.**

**"Sir, please stand back so that my boy can follow my directions." The guard made a face but did as asked. Turning to Jared, he inquired encouragingly, "Are you ready?"**

**Jared had not been called by name so a verbal response was either not needed or not wanted. He nodded and readied his muscles to get up gracefully.**

**He was startled to feel his master touching him. He bit the inside of his bottom lip and ducked his head thinking he was in trouble. Maybe his master did not trust him to follow those simple directions?**

**But then he felt the comforting squeeze and glanced up to the face above him. Their eyes met and he realized his master was helping him. His master was helping because he wanted to. He was helping because he thought Jared might like the help.**

**Jared quickly nodded his head to show that he had gotten the message and then he was sitting on the pillow. He checked to make sure that his feet were in the right place.**

**Typically, when in seated position 5, his hands would still have been chained behind him or maybe to a bar high above his head. But now they were uncuffed and free so he was unsure of where to put them. He bit his bottom lip again, then worried that his master saw his anxiety. It would not bode well for him.**

**That was when he realized that his master was still touching his arms. Not just the one arm, no. Now he had both of Jared's arms. He was not squeezing, but rather rubbing gently. Is he trying to reassure me? Jared laughed quietly at the thought. A master trying to comfort a slave? Ridiculous!**

**It was only when his master** **squeeze** **d him gently and chuckled that Jared realized what he had done. He'd spoken aloud! He forced his head down as far as he could. He was relieved that he could bow lower with his new collar. Perhaps, he could get to the ground to make amends and beg for forgiveness. Beg for the chance to be retrained so he could do better.**

**He had made a noise – the equivalent of speaking without permission. Man, what a bad slave he was! He was not even in master's house yet, and he had already talked out of turn, not gone lower than his master, and now he had made a noise.**

**He wanted to beg but he had not been given permission for that yet. He was in so much trouble!**

**He took another ragged breath when he realized he was still outside. That meant that all of his master's neighbors might have witnessed his shameful acts of disobedience. What would they think of his master? This was all his fault! There was nothing that he could do to fix his errors.**

**Jensen could tell that something had happened and his boy was spiraling out of control. "Jared, I love your laugh." He tried to catch the boy's eye, "I'm going to touch you, but I won't hurt you," he warned then gently tipped Jared's chin up toward his face. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I want you to do that more often. Understand?"**

**Jared looked up carefully. Was his master serious? He looked it. The boy gulped and forced a smile onto his face. "Yes, master, share laugh often."**

**Jensen smiled easily. Good his boy was back. "Yes, that's right. Share your laugh," he touched the boy's cheek gently. "And now that I can see it, your smile too." The boy nodded but looked down.**

**"Great job, Jared, good boy. Now you can either fold your arms in like this." He moved the boy's arms carefully. "Or you can put them behind you." The boy started to grasp his wrists as if they were still cuffed, so Jensen moved them to the ground by his sides. "Like this. Your choice. Now, let's get these off. Where is the key?” He held out his hand to the guard.**

**The man didn't even offer up a comment about it being against the regulations. Jensen made eye contact with his boy before starting. "OK, we are going to do this together. First, we'll do your right foot, OK?" The boy nodded and sat quietly as he was moved around. As soon as the cuff was off, Jensen turned the ankle carefully to inspect it for scratches & bruises. He massaged it gently before lowering it to the ground. "That one looks good, Jared. Now, your left." He treated that ankle the same way. "Great job staying still, Jared. This one looks good, too. Jared, I'm proud of you."**

**"Yes, master, made you proud." He said quietly not sure how to respond to flat out praise.**

**Jensen, true to style, saved him from himself by changing the subject. "Here you go." Jensen said as he handed the shackles to the waiting guard. "I think that's all you came with. Except my treasure here and you will not be leaving with him."**

**"Yes, Sir. That is all. It has been..."**

**"Yes, it has. Now goodbye," Jensen said with finality and turned back to his boy. "Jared, welcome home."**

**"Yes, master, my new residence," he said carefully. Only freemen had homes. Slaves had places to sleep and if lucky a residence. Jared thought he was pretty lucky.**

**Jensen squatted down in front of him again. "I know this is new. I know this will be hard at first but I want you to consider this your home." He paused and saw Jared lowered his head in submission. Not the reaction Jensen wanted. "I'm going to touch you, Jared, but I will not hurt you." He reached forward and tipped the boy's chin up.**

**"You are doing so well. I am so proud of you. Before we go in, my family would like to welcome you, home." Jensen waved his kids forward. "There is a tradition in our family of offering a gift to new family members." He looked down at the boy. "You are part of our family, Jared, so each of my children has picked out a special gift to help you settle in here."**

**He waved his youngest over. "Each of them will welcome you, tell you why their gift is almost as special as you, and then offer it to you. You may accept it, open it, and thank them. Joshy, did you still want to go first?"**

**"Yes, Daddy! Please, please, I want to welcome Jared, first!" He said bouncing up and down with excitement.**

**Jensen smiled, and noticed that Jared smiled too as he beckoned his exuberant son over. "OK, come on over then."**

**"Hey, Jared," the boy greeted him happily.**

**"Hey, little sir. Are you still doing well?" he asked earnestly even though he could see the boy bouncing with excitement.**

**"Oh, yes. I am very excited. I get to go first."**

**Jared smiled, "Congratulations, little sir."**

**"Thanks** **," Joshua bubbled. "So, welcome. I know it can be scary going to new places and I don't want you to be scared to be here. We're gonna have lots of fun, you'll see. But sometimes at night if you get scared, I want you to have something to make you feel better, so I got you 2 things.**

**"This was mine when I was small." Jared raised an eyebrow at that because the boy looked pretty small to him right now. "When I first came home, Maddy got me this. Momma used to tell me stories about how it helped me be less scared. I thought it might help you." He said and handed a small bag to Jared.**

**Jared glanced quickly up to master just to check the protocols, then he carefully pulled the item out of the bag. "It is a turtle," he said in awe. He had always loved turtles. This one was well worn in places but still soft and squishy. He carefully buried his nose in its soft shell. He was so amazed that the boy would give him something so precious that he forgot to say thank you.**

**"Daddy, I think he likes it!" the boy whispered to his dad.**

**Jensen knelt behind his son again and agreed. "Did you have something else for him, Joshy?"**

**"Oh, yes, Daddy! Jared, I also like to cuddle up with a favorite blanket at night but Daddy said that my blanket would be too small for you." He chuckled, "now that I see you, I can see why."**

**Jared dropped his eyes and stopped smiling. He knew he was too tall.**

**His master interrupted his thoughts, "Jared, you are perfect for me. I like that you are tall. You are just what I wanted."**

**"Yes, master, just what you wanted," he said the words but it did not sound like he believed what he was being told.**

**Jensen reached toward him. "I'm going to touch you but I will not hurt you." He said as he turned the boy's chin up. "Jared, you are not too tall. Joshua's blanket is made for infants. I like you tall. I want you to stand tall."**

**"Yes, master, stand tall for Master." Jared said more believably.**

**Jensen nodded for his son to continue.**

**"So I got you this blankie instead. It is the same color and has a binding like mine. See how soft it is." Joshua turned to his dad, "I can touch him now, right?" he asked in a hushed tone.**

**Jensen smiled his agreement but also warned. "Remember what we talked about."**

**"I will. Jared, is it OK, if I touch you?" He waited as Jared checked with his master.**

**"Jared, it is your choice. You always have the right to tell any of them 'no' or 'not now but later'." He said with a nod.**

**Jared nodded, "Yes, master, my choice." Then he turned to Joshy and nodded.**

**Joshua leaned forward to touch the blankets binding to Jared's cheek. "See, isn't it soft?"**

**Jared nodded. It was soft, he wondered if he would really be allowed to sleep with something so soft or if this was just an act in front of the young children.**

**Jensen pulled his son back toward his knees and addressed Jared. "Now, it's your turn... to thank Joshy," he added when he saw Jared's lost look.**

**Jared sat up straighter worried that he had been caught not doing what he was supposed to be doing. "Yes, master. Little sir, thank you for making this slave feel so welcome. Thank you for the thoughtful gifts." He glanced up to Master hoping he had done what his master expected.**

**"That's fine, Jared." He could see the boy wanted to say more but was scared of overstepping his directions. "Is there anything you would like to add?"**

**Jared looked down, "Yes, master. With permission?"**

**"Go ahead."**

**"Yes, master, thank you. Little sir, turtles are very cool, so thank you for sharing something so special." He glanced up to master before adding quietly. "You can visit anytime you want, OK?"**

**"Thanks Jared, can I touch you again?" He nodded quickly and bit his lip as the bundle of energy threw himself into Jared's arms and gave him such a big hug that they both fell over.**

**"Joshua, I thought we talked about this?" Jensen said as he tried to sit Jared back up and pry the two apart. "Jared, I am very sorry about that. Are you alright?"**

**Jared had smiled when it had first happened but when he heard his master, he thought he was in trouble and he got into a submissive position. "Yes, master. Sorry, master!" He said quickly and tried to follow up with the rest of the 'please punish this slave as you see fit, please teach this slave to be better, master'.**

**"Jared, sit back down," he said calmly as he handed Joshua off to his friend, who had run over to help the two boys up.**

**"Yes, master, sitting in position," he said very carefully and moved as quickly as he could into the position his master had first put him in.**

**"Look at me," he ordered and waited until Jared could hold eye contact. Then very slowly, he began explaining, "I am not mad at you. You are not in trouble. Joshua, is a ball of energy, who knows better than to tumble into people," he glanced at his son who looked ashamed. "My annoyed tone was toward him, not you. Are you sure you are OK? You fell over pretty hard." He reached out to check the boy over. He was worried about finding a bump on Jared's head and scratches on his naked back but the boy seemed OK.**

**Jared nodded his head to show he was fine, while wondering why his master cared so much. Did master think he would claim to be too injured to work? He was a good slave he would always strive to serve. He had been taught that even when he was sick or hurt it was his job to serve his master.**

**"Well, good. I'm glad that he didn't hurt you. Are you ready for Maddy's gift or do you need a minute?"**

**Jared tipped his head questioningly. Was master really asking his permission? Was he being** **giv** **en a choice? When his master stayed quiet, Jared nodded his head and hoped it was the answer master was looking for.**

**"OK, good. Good job, Jared. I'm proud of you for answering. Maddy, you're up," he said then stood back.**

**"Hi again, Jared."**

**"Little miss," Jared said and nodding his hello.**

**"As you can see, I have the most fashion sense of my whole family so I talked Dad into letting me pick out your first few outfits. I have one with me so that you can put something on, because I think you must be freezing. The rest are in your room.**

**"And because we know you are a growing boy," she pulled a small card out of her pocket and turned to her father. "I know that since it is money, I can't give it to you but this is also yours. Dad will hold it for now but it is yours to use when you need it, OK?"**

**"Yes, little miss," he agreed even though he did not know what she was talking about; master provided outfits for their slaves. If his master wanted him dressed, then he would provide the items that were necessary. Typically, a slave received 2 uniforms but some treasured slaves had 3. As a sex slave, Jared might get a few extra pairs of panties but full outfits? That was very rare. This master looked rich and seemed nice so Jared hoped to be lucky enough to earn that privilege.**

**Jensen could see Jared's confusion growing. "Things are very different here, Jared. I want you to trust me and know that everything is OK. We will talk more later."**

**The boy swallowed and tried not to panic.**

**"Maddy, why don't you explain where you got the clothes?" Jensen suggested with a wink.**

**"OK. Jared, when Dad said you were coming, he showed us your main info page and then he showed us the selection in the slave sections in the shopping mall but they were so ugly. They are so plain, thin, and itchy," she made a face and did a full body shiver. "I just couldn't do that to a family member so I talked with Dad and convinced him to let me find clothes for you."**

**"Jared, I need you to relax," his master interrupted, "I would never endanger you. Everything my children have bought is within regulations. You will not be in trouble if you use these items."**

**"Yes, master, calming down and trusting you."**

**"Great job, Jared. Now, like Maddy said, she did have access to your info page with all of your sizes and color preferences but she tends to go crazy so if you don't like something or if it doesn't fit right, let us know and we will return it to get something new.**

**"Jared, you will not be in trouble if something doesn't fit right or if you don't like an item. You are to tell Maddy or myself and we will fix it."**

**He nodded even though he could not see himself following the second part of those orders. "Yes, master, let you know if something does not fit well."**

**"Good boy." Jensen ignored that Jared only acknowledged part of the order. Jared would come around when he realized that things were different here and that Jensen was serious. "Maddy, why don't you show him what you picked out for today?"**

**"Sure Dad." She said before turning back to Jared. "So your paperwork said you like blue so I got you this." She said proudly and placed a box on his lap.**

**Jared was not sure what paperwork she was talking about because he was never asked about any preferences. Slaves did not get to have ideas or wants. They were happy with whatever their masters gave them but he schooled his face and opened the box. As soon as he had the cover off, his jaw dropped. There were real clothes in the box. Freeman quality. On top of the pile was a pullover shirt. He looked up to his master in shock. Was this really for him? "Master?" he dared to question.**

**"Yes, Jared," he said gently. "Would you like to ask a clarifying question?"**

**"This is for your slave?" Jensen nodded. "To wear?" Jensen nodded again. "Now?" Jensen nodded a third time. Jared put the box down carefully so that he could pull the shirt over his head. The fit was amazing. The cloth was so soft. And it was warm.**

**"Thank you, little miss. This is an amazing gift," he smiled his brilliant dimpled smile** **at her.**

**She threw her arms around her father, hugging him tightly. "I'm glad you like it. Way cool smile, by the way. Dad, can we make a rule about him smiling?"**

**Jared lost his smile and ducked his head down as far as it would bend. He was worrying about what he had done wrong to deserve a rule being made up on the spot.**

**Jensen noticed the change immediately. "Jared, eyes on me."**

**"Yes, master, eyes on master." And he tried his best to follow the direction.**

**"She means a reward system to encourage you to smile more, not a rule against you smiling. We will talk more later but it would be like if we catch you showing real emotions so many times in one day that you would earn an extra reward."**

**Jensen could see Jared's confusion. "OK, let's do this now. Jared, if we catch you... 5 times in one day, showing us real emotions, such as by smiling or laughing then you will earn one extra privilege that day. Privileges include but are not limited to: extra dessert, extra TV time, extra free time, one less chore the next day, or an item from your treasure jar. Does that make sense? If it does not make sense, it is OK to say 'no', you will not be in trouble."**

**Jared was scared but he shook his head 'no'. He was so lost.**

**"Good boy, Jared. I'm so proud of you for answering honestly. I want you to know that communication is very important to me. If you do not understand a direction, it is OK to ask for clarification. Jared, you have blanket permission to ask questions."**

**"Yes, master, allowed to ask clarifying questions."**

**Jensen nodded** **: this was going better than he had hoped. "So do you have a clarifying question you want to ask?"**

**Jared nodded that yes he did have a question.**

**"Go ahead," Jensen prompted.**

**"Master, you want your slave to smile?"**

**"Yes."**

**"Master, you will give a 'reward' if you notice?"**

**"If we notice 5 in one day, yes."**

**That sounded pretty good. He tended to smile a lot but it typically earned him punishments not treats.**

**"Master, how will you pick the privilege?" he asked nervously.**

**Jensen smiled at his smart boy, "You will be the one to choose."**

**Jared's mouth hung open at that. He could make a choice?!?**

**"Maddy, are you done?"**

**"I think so, Jared knows about all of his clothes and you have the gift card for when he needs new clothes. I think that's everything."**

**"OK, Jared, why don't you take a minute to stand up and finished getting dressed. Then you can thank Maddy and we will move on to Jonathan's gift."**

**"Yes, master," he said quickly as he started to get dressed. He was amazed to find boxer style underwear in the box on top of the pants. "Master," he called out quietly and waited. Typically, slaves of his status would only be dressed in panties or if allowed an outfit it would be devoid of undergarments for easier access.**

**"Yes, Jared?"**

**Jared stammered to ask, "Clarifying question, Master?"**

**"Of course," he said with a smile and nodded.**

**Jared pointed toward the box hoping not to have to ask. "Master?" he said when there was no response.**

**Jensen smirked, "You may wear everything that is in that box."**

**Jared nodded, "Yes, master, right away." He said and got dressed as quickly as he could. When he was done fixing the zipper on his pants, Master indicated that he could sit down on the pillow again.**

**"Little miss, thank you for the excellent clothes. They fit very well. You have done a marvelous job picking out pleasing items. Thank you for your effort."**

**"You're welcome. And remember that Dad has the gift card so when those get too small, we can go buy more, OK?"**

**Jared lost his smile, dipped his head down, and mumbled, "Yes, little miss."**

**Jensen was quick to catch the change. "Jared, you are a growing boy and I expect this set of clothing to only last a few weeks, definitely not through the summer."**

**His chin was quivering when he looked up, "Master?"**

**"Yes, Jared?"**

**"Cla-clari-” he took a deep breath to settle his nerves. "Clarifying question, master?"**

**"Of course, go ahead."**

**"Your slave is sorry it is so tall but it thinks it can make these last several months, master."**

**"Jared, I don't want you to worry, you aren't in trouble but you are too thin. It is not healthy for you to be this thin. I want you to start eating more. Within the week, we will meet with a doctor and plan it out. Just know that you will be putting on weight until he says you have stopped growing and are a healthy weight. I want you to keep growing. I want you to be healthy."**

**"Yes master, eat the food you give your slave and-" he had to look down to say the rest, "keep growing." He had always been told to slump and that he was too tall. He could not understand a master wanting him to get bigger. What if this man changed his mind? What would happen to him when he was returned? Where would he go? Who would want him then?**

**Jensen came forward, "I'm going to touch you but I'm not going to hurt you," he said just before he gently squeezed the boy's arms. "Yes, eat and grow healthy. That's my good boy, Jared. I know this is different from what you're used to but you are doing so well. Are you ready for Jonathan's gift?" The boy nodded but didn't dare risk words. Jensen nodded at his eldest son to come forward.**

**"Hey, Jared. Well, now that you're comfortable here -- and dressed fashionably, for every occasion, I might add," he threw a snarky look toward his sister. "It's time to have some fun." Jonathan could see the boy tense. Jensen started to step forward but Jonathan knew what he was doing.**

**"Jared, I'm going to touch you but I'm not going to hurt you," he said calmly and touched the boy's cheek gently just as his father had done just moments before. "I mean fun for the two of us, not me having fun at your expense. I mean that I love to go outside and throw the football around and neither of these two can keep up with me," he nodded toward his younger siblings.**

**"I will never ask you to do something that might get you hurt. I will never ask you to do something that goes against one of Father's rules. I will always take suggestions on what game we should play next. You will not always be 'it'. I want a teammate to play with, not someone to beat up. Do you have any questions?"**

**The boy shook his head in amazement. He felt calmer knowing that 'play with' was not code for beat up. He** **smiled.**

**"OK, if you have questions later, you have permission to ask me or Father," he paused and nodded toward master. Jared nodded quickly to show he was listening.**

**"OK, here is my gift to welcome you home." Jonathan said. "Again, we got the measurements off of the training centers info page so if they don't feel right let me know and we will get you a different pair. It's easy to do and you won't be in trouble."**

**The boy nodded and took the box. He carefully pulled the top off to revealing a pair of expensive sneakers. He looked up in shock.**

**Jonathan smirked, just like his father. "Well, you can't run around in** **slave sandals** **and kicking a ball barefoot is just too dangerous."**

**Jared cautiously looked up at master. Would he really be allowed to wear these wonderful shoes?**

**Master nodded, "Jonathan knows his shoes well." Jensen pointed his son's shoes. They were a perfect match to the ones that he was holding in the box.**

**"Well, mine are two sizes smaller but yeah... Cool, huh?"**

**The boy nodded and tried not to take the size difference personally.**

**"So try them on later and let me know what you think, ‘cause seriously it's no problem to exchange them for a difference size or style."**

**The boy nodded and hugged the box close. "Thank you, y** **oung** **master. This slave will treasure these and endeavor to be a challenging player for you."**

**Jonathan smiled and nodded before removing his hand.**

**Jensen, stepped forward, "W** **ell,** **looks like those are all of the** **welcome gifts."**

**"Um, Father? I have one more thing."**

**Jensen turned to his son, he had known his boy was up to something. "Yes?"**

**"Jared, it's not always possible to play outside so I wanted to give you something that you can do inside and independently." Jonathan started to hand over the package he had kept hidden behind his back but Jensen stepped in and took it first.**

**Jensen turned to his son, "Jonathan, what did you do?"**

**He pulled it back, "Father, it is OK, really. Trust me. I looked it all up. It's on the approved list."**

**"Jonathan, I am the responsible adult here, so I need to know what is going on," he said very clearly and held out his hand.**

**Jonathan knew when he had pushed too far,   "OK, it's a book. I bought 5 of them off the approved list. The page said that slaves can keep up to 5 personal books in their possession at any given time."**

**"I love the idea but I wish you had shared it with me first. Do you even know if he can read? Or if he would like these types of books?" He turned back to the boy, "No offense, Jared, but many slaves are not taught to read, especially for fun. I personally hope you can and that you enjoy it but if you can't or don't want to that is fine."**

**"Your slave can read, master," he said tentatively. He did not like the idea of young master getting into trouble.**

**Jensen nodded,** **even though he'd actually known that part since he had gotten Jared to help the kids with their homework. However, the issue was his son overstepping the boundaries. "Jared, have you ever read a book for fun or thought about reading a book for fun?"**

**Jared bit his lip and ducked his head, again grateful that he could bend lower with his new collar, "clarifying question, Master?" he ask the ground.**

**"Of course."**

**"If your slave did an unslavelike thing, at the training center... and was punished..., would you punish it again if you found out?" he asked nervously.**

**Jensen squatted down in front of the boy so he could maintain eye contact. "No. You are free to tell us anything you want. I will not punish you for anything that happened before today."**

**"Thank you, Master," he whispered before getting himself under enough control to go on. "Master, your slave is sorry to report that, yes, it has read a book that was not on its approved assignment list. It was caught and suitable retrained, master. Your slave will never break that rule again, master." He glanced up before moving into kneeling position 3, "Your slave knows the importance of keeping it place, master, and only strives to be the best slave for you and your family."**

**Jensen wanted to let out the sigh that he was holding in but worried about the damage it would do to both of his boys. "Jonathan, we will talk about this later," he said carefully.**

**His son nodded, staring at the prone figure. "Yes, sir,” Jensen could see that now his son understood what he had caused. Instead of** **surprising** **Jared with an extra gift, he had scared him and possible gotten him in trouble.**

**"Jared, kneel up."**

**"Yes, master, k** **neeling up** **," he said resolutely and moved into kneeling position 1,** **fluidly.**

**"Jared, you are in no trouble," Jensen threw a look toward his son before he smiled and calmed his voice. "Don't worry about your new friend; Jonathan is not in trouble either. He tried to do something nice for you and I am going to work with him to make this happen. I am glad that you can read and that you enjoy books.**

**"Jonathan, which book did you bring out with you?" Jonathan quickly brought the book over. Jensen laughed when he saw the cover. Jonathan had picked an old family classic. "Alright, that is fine," he said to his son before turning and handing the book to Jared.**

**"Jared, you may have this book, now, and I will look over the others later. If I approve of the titles then they will go into your treat jar and you will be able to earn them. If I don't approve of the titles then I will work with Jonathan to choose appropriate books and they too will go into the reward jar. How does that sound?"**

**The boy nodded. He liked the idea of not being in trouble, the rest he would figure out later.**

**"OK and he's correct that the law says you may have up to 5 books at one time in your possession. So as we go on, if you are an avid reader then we will just add the extra books to the 'family' library and you may keep your top 5 with you in your room. Understand?"**

**Jared nodded numbly. It sounded like master was helping him break the law. He must have missed something but he would think on it later.**

**"Good. If you're not an avid reader, then just let us know and we will just add these books to the family library now. It will not be a problem. You will not be in trouble. Understood?"**

**"Yes, master."**

**"Very good. After I've talked with Jonathan, we'll show you the books and you'll have a few minutes to see if you like them. It might not be today or tomorrow but I promise that within a week we will talk with you.**

**"While we're talking about books, you do have permission to use the family books as long as you are in the living room or kitchen. Jared, those books should never go to your room but they can go to the kitchen. Understand?"**

**"Yes, master, permission to use household books in the living room and kitchen only."**

**Jensen nodded and smiled as he handed the book back to his son. "Yes, good boy. Jonathan has permission to give you this book and for you to use it in any room or outside and for you to keep it in your room."**

**"Thank you, Master. You are very kind to this..."**

**Jensen held up his hand and firmly but not unkindly said, "Stop. There will be none of those learned phrases in our house. If you would like to thank me you may but use your own words."**

**Jared was unsure how to proceed. He thought his master was giving him an order but he had not used the correct phrasing. Jared sat there stunned trying to figure out how to answer. Should he just thank his master or just acknowledged the order? He wanted to move into his submissive position 3 but that had made master unhappy before.**

**Then he raised his eyebrows with an idea. "Master, clarifying question?" he asked hopefully.**

**Jensen smiled, "Of course."**

**He cut right to the core question and left off the 'if it pleases, my master to inform me', and just asked, "What reaction would you like master?"**

**Jensen** **'s head went back in a laugh. "You are my perfect boy." Then he leaned forward, "I am going to help you up but I will not hurt you." Once Jared was standing, Jensen put his arm around him and gave him a big hug. "Welcome home, Jared, welcome home."**

**From behind him, Jared heard a man clearing his throat. "Umm, Jensen, did forget someone?"**

**A shocked Jensen turned to face his best friend who was leaning against his car.**

**Christian pushed to a stand and walked over to the group. "I bought him a welcome home gift, too."**

**"Oh, of course." Jensen was shocked, Christian was definitely family, but he didn't usually take part in Jensen's 'little traditions'. "Jared, this is my best friend and lawyer, Christian Kane." Then he called out to him, "Hey, what do you want him to call you?"**

**"We better stick with 'sir' for now. Jared, I will be over here a lot and we are a pretty informal group. The kids call me 'Uncle' but until you get to know me, let's stick with 'sir', OK? It does not have to be 'Sir Kane', OK?"**

**"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Jared ducked his head in greeting. Finally, someone who would play by rules he knew.**

**Jensen clapped his hands together, "OK, now that your name is settled. What did you get my wonderful boy?"**

**"The best thing money can buy!” Christian waved a card in the air.**

**Then before he could get the words out all three kids yelled,** **'Pizza!'**

**"Oh, man. You have corrupted my kids. Why do I let you near them?" Jensen asked and buried his face in his hands.**

**Christian, put a reassuring arm around his best friend's shoulder and flapped the card in the air. "This is considered money so I have to give it to this guy, but know that it is yours, OK?"**

**The boy nodded not understanding a thing.**

**"OK, good. This, valuable item, is a free night of no cooking and** **no cleaning** **," the man waggled his eyes but it still meant nothing to the boy.**

**"There is a store near here, Jared, that will deliver hot pizza and you can pay them with this piece of paper." Master explained, "So if there is a day that you want to celebrate something or you just don't want to worry about making dinner let me know and I will order us dinner because Christian here has already paid for it."**

**The boy nodded. Now he understood the paper but why would he not want to cook? Would he be in too much pain? The kids all seemed happy with idea of having this pizza. Maybe it was a special treat. He would like to provide something special to them after all of the care they took with him today. "Thank you, Sir. That was a very kind thing for you to do. This slave is sure the children will enjoy their pizza treat."**

**Christian was caught off guard by the phrasing but being a competent attorney he rolled with the flow and agreed. After congratulating Jared on getting a great family, he thanked them all for a great day and headed out.**

**After he pulled out of sight, Jensen addressed his crew, "Alright, now are we done?"**

**There were nods all around. "Alright, everyone grab something and let's go in. I want to give Jared a quick tour before stopping in his room but you can all drop your items off in his room. I give you permission to enter just for that reason. Jonathan, you will close the door behind you. Then off to you own rooms until I call you for lunch. Understood?"**

**There were 'yes'' all around and they walked up the driveway.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think.


	3. The grand tour

**When they reached the door, Jensen had Jared go first as he made a formal greeting. "OK, our tour starts here. This is the entry way, as you can see it gets pretty busy and crowded with all of us coming in at once."**

**"That is why dad has these, color-coded boxes, for all of our things." Maddy explained.**

**"Yeah, mine is this one." Joshy said excitedly, "It has to be tipped up like this 'cause I'm so messy. It is yellow. I love yellow. My color is yellow." Joshy said excitedly.**

**"This slave can see that, little sir."**

**Jensen cleared his throat to try to get everyone's attention. "OK, I know you are all excited but let's table it for now so that Jared can get settled. I'm going to give him a quick tour, then show him his room. Jared, we will talk after. Everyone else, off to your rooms."**

**"Yes, master, tour, and then discuss rules." Jared said quietly while the children answered with 'yes, Father' or 'ok, Daddy.'**

**Joshy tugged on Jensen’s shirt, "Daddy, can I give him a welcome home hug? Please!"**

**Jensen smiled down at his youngest and ruffled his hair. "You may ask him permission to give him a welcome home hug."**

**He beamed up at his dad. "Jared, welcome home. I like to give hugs; can I give you a hug?"**

**Without glancing up, Jared knelt down on one knee. "Little Sir, can this slave trust you with a secret?"**

**The little boy nodded solemnly and crossed his heart.**

**"I love getting hugs," before anyone could respond the young boy smiled, gave a crinkly wink, and threw his arms around Jared.**

**And then the children were off. Jared never saw the nod and looks between young master and master signifying that they both noticed Jared using a freeman pronoun to describe himself.**

**Once they were alone, Jensen turned to Jared and encouraged him to put his new shoes in the unpainted box. "This one is yours, Jared. I have it tipped up like Joshy's for now but I trust you so if it works better down then do that." He waited for the quick nod.**

**"Like my kids were explaining, I like things orderly. It makes leaving in the morning quicker when I know where everything is. I know that your info page said you liked blue but... you don't really have a favorite color,** **do you?"**

**Jared looked down, miserably, and shook his head. After a few seconds, he glanced up, while biting the inside of his lip. "Your slave could like blue, if you want it too, master," he said hopefully. He had noticed that none of the bins were blue so it should be easy to make his blue.**

**Jensen smiled, "I'm going to touch you," he said while reaching out to touch Jared's shoulder. "You are very sweet and helpful, Jared, but I want you to really like your color. There is no rush. Take your time settling in and your color will become clear. Alright?"**

**The boy risked a quick nod but stayed quiet.**

**Jensen bit back a sigh. "Great. You ready for the 2 cent tour?" He asked and squeezed Jared’s shoulder gently turning him toward the living room.**

**"Yes, master! Sorry to delay you."**

**"You're fine, Jared. We are in no rush. We have plenty of time for questions. This is the living room. It is where we spend most of our family time." He pushed the door open and enjoyed Jared's look of awe. The room was octagonal in design with a huge bay window at the back looking toward the driveway, a comfortable couch in the middle, and a large screen TV in the front.**

**However, the things that caught Jared's attention were the bookshelves that were on every wall. Now he knew why it would be no problem to add 5 kid books to the family library. Would he really be allowed to read in here? Would he really be allowed to touch those precious books?**

**He was so stunned that he did not even notice as Jensen led him over to the couch and sat him down.**

**"Well, I can see that you like it in here," Jensen commented with a happy note to his voice. He was going to go on but stopped when Jared lost his happy look and tried to get off the couch. "It's OK, Jared. I want you to sit," he offered** **quickly** **, trying to reassure the boy.**

**The boy nodded and perched on the edge of the couch.**

**"Are you comfortable like that?" Jensen asked gently, knowing he really couldn't be.**

**Jared could not lie but he tried to avoid the question. "Your slave is sitting as ordered, master," he replied quietly while looking down at his hands.**

**Jensen sat back into his corner of the couch, "Jared, let's sit here, comfortably, as I go over the expectation of this room, OK?"**

**Even though he had been taught that slaves do not sit on freeman furniture when out of the bedroom, Jared took comfort in knowing that he was following his master order. "Yes, master, sitting," he took a stabilizing breath, "comfortably and listening to rules."**

**Once he was sitting back farther on the couch and turned slightly toward his master, Jensen started again. "Before we begin, I have some good news for you... You have gotten credit for showing real emotion once. I saw the look of awe on your face when you spotted the books." Jensen pointed around the room. "I want this to be a room where you can relax. You will be allowed to use this room during your free time. You are allowed to use the TV, the stereo, and the books. Later, I will show you how to work all of the remotes, if you have any questions just ask any of the kids or myself.**

**"Typically on Friday and Saturday nights, we gather as a family to watch a movie while eating pizza or popcorn. You are encouraged to join us during those times.**

**"You are allowed to sit, comfortably, on this couch anytime you want. When you are in here supervising or playing with the children, you are allowed to be relaxed. You may sit anywhere you want, stand, and even lay on the floor with them.**

**"How does that sound to you? I know this is different then you were taught. I know it will take time for you to settle in. If you have questions later, just ask. I will never get mad at you asking a clarifying question."**

**The boy nodded. He was so shocked by these rules but master seemed to be different in so many ways that he let himself get caught up in the magic of the house. This was going to be so different from his training! Master seemed so understanding, maybe Jared could learn to be 'OK'. He was a fast learner; he would just treat this as a new course that he needed to earn credit in to please his trainers.**

**"OK, so the main things about this room are: 1) you can relax in here, 2) you can use the books & equipment, and 3) you can be alone in here during your free time. Got it?"**

**"Master, clar-ify-ing que-question** **," he asked and waited for permission. "Master, what do you mean by 'free time'?"**

**Jensen looked at him not understanding his confusion. "Whenever you're not working."**

**Jared scoffed and then threw himself down to his knees in the limited space between Jensen and the coffee table. "Master, your slave apologizes and begs to be retrained," he said carefully before bending forward into position 3.**

**Jensen** **laid a gentle hand on Jared's shoulder and could feel his boy shivering in fear. "What do you think you need to be forgiven for?" Jensen asked carefully.**

**Jared cursed himself silently but realized that his master must want to make sure that he understood completely what he had done wrong before he could relearn what he should have done, so he spoke as clearly as he could. "Master, your slave asks to be retrained and begs for forgiveness for laughing at you. It was wrong of someone as low as it to scoff at a freeman. You were being charitable in answering its** **question.** **Your slave is sorry that it disgraced itself. Ple...ple...please master, your slave wishes to be a good boy for you," he snuck a look up, "please? Please retrain me?"**

**Jensen noticed the boy's chin quivering and reached out to gently grasp it and help the boy maintain eye contact. "Jared, when you scoffed. Did you show true emotion?" He felt the boy's chin quiver more and fought to keep the boy looking up. "Answer me truthfully, Jared," he urged gently.**

**"Yes, master, your slave is sor-"**

**"That's perfect, Jared. I'm so proud of you!" he said with such love and conviction in his voice.**

**In shock, Jared pulled back into a full** **kneel, "Master?"**

**Jensen smiled** **, leaning back into the couch. "That is your second time showing real emotion since coming into the house. You might earn your extra treat before dinner." Jensen was so proud of his boy for breaking his training.**

**"Jared, you are mine. I looked for a long time to find someone with all of your skills. I'm very happy with how today is going." He paused to let the boy catch up because this next part would be really hard to understand. "Jared, I want you to scoff at me when I'm being an idiot, laugh at me when I'm being foolish, and tell me when I'm making a mistake.**

**"I had not meant to talk about this yet but I think you need to hear it now. You know what designation you were listed under, right?" The boy nodded. That was why he was so surprised that he was introduced to the children like his was and that he had a room of his own that was not accessed through his masters.**

**"Do you know that a designation can be changed?" The boy nodded and felt sick. Typically, designation levels only went down. He knew he was listed as a level 1, high end, personal body slave. Why would his master move him down already? What had he done wrong?**

**"As you have guessed, I do not want you for your original designation. Now, before you get worried, hear me out. I have a plan, OK?" Jared was biting his tongue to stay quiet. "I have already changed your designation to... domestic, household caretaker level 3. It was the highest that I could reclassify you with your current training.**

**"When Joshy is older and has less need of full-time care, I want you to spend time at the office helping me. I'm planning on continually moving your designation up until you are my personal assistant, level 1."**

**Jared gasped. That was a high honor. Only the best and brightest slaves were ever trained for that. It involved so much more than what he had been trained to do. Most personal assistants were allowed to drive, to handle money, and to be out without direct supervision in public. Jared could not even think about doing any of that.**

**"I know this is a lot to take in at once. But Jared, I know you can do it. I have seen you with each of my children and with Christian. You are perfect! We have time, OK? For now, settle in. Next week, start taking care of the children. After that we will let things develop."**

**Jensen leaned forward but did not touch the boy. "Just know that you will always have a home here. Even if you never want to go above household caretaker, you are safe here. I will never sell you."**

**Jared looked down and sighed in relief. That was one of his worries. If he was not good enough, his master was within his rights to sell him or loan him to a friend. As a body slave, he was already depreciating and would have been lucky to get 10 years with the same master before he was considered 'too old'. Jared knew it was foolish to trust an owner but it felt good to be told this lie.**

**"Jared, can I see you smile?" his master asked quietly. Jared lifted his head and did as requested. "Thank you. I know that this is a lot to take in. I know you will have question for me as you settle in and that is OK. I want you to use this impressive brain of yours," he said gently tapping the boy's forehead. "Now,** **do you** **understand why I don't have a problem with you scoffing at me?"**

**The boy licked his lips as he thought it over. He understood that to have scoffed he had to have thoughts but he thought showing disrespect was bad? "Master, thank you for sharing your plan with your slave," he swallowed all of the rhetoric about him being unworthy and pushed on. "It will endeavor to meet your expectations while still being respectful."**

**Jensen took a minute to hear what his boy was telling him. "Jared, I hope you will become my personal assistant so from this moment on you have permission to scoff at, openly laugh at, and lovingly whack me upside the head when I deserve it. I need you to keep me honest and balanced. You will be my own little Jiminy Cricket."**

**When he saw Jared's perplexed look he explained. "He's a character in a movie. He acts as the conscience of another character. Don't worry about it now, I'll show you the movie someday soon but for now just know that I trust you and I want you to react openly, OK?"**

**The boy nodded and Jensen helped him up. "Good then let's continue our tour. My favorite room is next... the kitchen." Jared chuckled, as he was lead back into the hall.**

**"So, you will have many jobs in here. Your file says that you have had basic level cooking instruction. There are cookbooks over there and a computer set up here so you can research new recipes. In a few weeks, we can talk about sending you for more training, if you would like." Jensen was talking so fast and pointing out what he thought was important that he didn't see the terror that this simple comment struck with Jared.**

**Typically, only bad slaves are sent for retraining but The Training Centers wanted to make as much money as possible so they offered specialized training courses to owners whose slaves needed new/advanced skills. Some were day courses lasting only a few hours but most were more intense requiring overnight stays.**

**From what little Jared had heard those specialized trainings were run similar to the courses that he had already taken. That is to say, hands on and with corporal punishment for each small infraction. Would he have to remain on campus until he passed each course to the trainers’ ideals? The thought of going back terrified him.**

**Jared knew it would be master's decision but he would try his hardest to learn this family's preferences and many new recipes. He was not sure how much time he would have but he would rather try on his own than go back to The Training Center for retraining. He shivered at the thought of leaving master and facing the trainers again.**

**"Over the next few days, I'll get the computer set up so that you can use it to help the kids with their homework and access cooking websites.**

**"Later, I'll give you time to explore and reorganize this place. I know we are low on many items so don't hold back on telling me what you need. On the fridge here, is the shopping list. Just write down items we are low on or out of. If there is something that you need urgently put a star next to it. That's our system." Jensen waited for Jared to acknowledge the directions.**

**"For the next few weeks, I'll hit the store ever few days. Once you've settled in, I'll set you up with an online account. You'll be able to use the computer to order food and have it delivered. You won't have to worry about paying because it will all be billed to my online account. Sound OK?"**

**The boy nodded to show he had heard. He hoped he caught on fast to the computer systems as well as this family's likes and needs.**

**Jensen pointed to the bowls on the floor and Jared prepared himself to hear how this would be where he would eat. "As you see, we have 2 dogs." He was not as prepared as he thought. Most masters have slaves eat out of their hand or from bowls like this so he had thought...**

**"They are having a spa day to celebrate your arrival, they'll be home tomorrow. The kids are supposed to take care of feeing and walking them but they need reminders and sometime guidance," Jensen chuckling to himself as he recalled the dog's first bath. "Do you have any experience with dogs?"**

**It was one of the few things that Jared's online form hadn’t listed. He could've requested more info or specialized training but he hadn't thought it would be necessary. His dogs were good at making friends and Jared was a quick study.**

**"A little, master. Your slave should be able to assist the children with their chores," he said bravely. His only personal experience was when one of the trainers had snuck his own black lab in one day as a special treat. The dog had been very well behaved although it had been very enthusiastic when licking the boys' faces. Jared remembered liking that dog but he knew that most freemen dogs were trained as attack dogs to keep slaves in line. He felt bad that these dogs had been kicked out because of him. What if it made them mad at him? Maybe they really were enjoying their spa day? Whatever that was.**

**Jensen noticed how quiet his boy was. "Jared," he called quietly to get the boy's attention. "2 things you should know. 1) these are family pets not guard dogs and 2) I treasure you more than them."**

**"Yes, master," he responded automatically. Then the words penetrated. "What?" he asked shocked. He was not to be placed above the family pets; he was a slave.**

**Jensen smiled, "Yes, you heard correctly. I hold you as more important than my dogs. You are a real person, Jared. You have thoughts and ideas and mean more to me than my pets. OK?"**

**The boy was nodding and swallowing but could not talk.**

**"OK, we'll talk more later if we need to. Just know that I want you to tell me about any problems, can you try to do that?"**

**Again the boy nodded in shock. He was better than his master's** **beloved pets!?!**

**"OK, next we have the kids'** **rooms.”** **Jensen said as he led the way down the last hallway. "Key parts of your job will be laundry and child safety so you have permission to knock, announce yourself, and then ask to come in. Please wait for permission, unless you're worried about their safety." Then he chuckled, "or they're at school and you're putting their laundry away, then of course you don't have to knock." He waited for the Jared's response but only got a quick nod.**

**"As you'll see, my children do not suffer from lack of toys. It is fine with me if, after homework, they play either in their rooms or in the living room. They have been told that they may invite you in to play with them. Please do not feel like you have to bow down to their whims. Decide based on your work and energy level if you want to join them."**

**Jared bit his bottom lip and tried not to make eye contact. With his pledge, how would he say 'no' to the children? Was his master trying to trick him? He did not think so. Why would he set 'his boy' to fail? But how was he to accomplish such a task?**

**"Jared, I expect you to say 'no' or 'not now but maybe later' to my children when you have other demands on your time."**

**"Yes, master, let the children..." He started but was stumped how to put that order into its simplest form.**

**"Jared, your time is valuable and you control..." Jensen paused when he saw Jared grimace. OK, too strong, too fast. "You need to manage your time effectively." He nodded to the boy to try that.**

**Forcing a smile, "Yes, master, manage time to meet all of master’s needs."**

**"That's fine. My needs are, in order of importance, your health, the house, and then my children's happiness. Clear?"**

**Jared nodded, nervously wondering what would happen the first time he said 'not now** **'** **to one of the children. Would they run to master right away? How bad would that retraining last?**

**"While we're talking about the children, they have been ordered to** **_not_ ** **give you orders. They may make requests but that is all. If they make any unreasonable requests, I need you to let me know as soon as possible. Understood?"**

**"Yes, master." He answered quickly but he knew he would be worrying about that one later. A master who did not allow his children to practice giving unreasonable order to the family slave? He had never heard of such a thing.**

**Jensen seemed to relax. "OK, good. Yes, that's good. OK, let's go see how trashed they have gotten their rooms in the past--" he glanced at his watch, "45 minutes." He looked up at Jared and smiled reassuringly.**

**"It's fine if they do, Jared. I know they create messes so you won't be responsible for cleaning their rooms. Although any help you can give me would be welcomed," he said as he squeezed the boy's shoulder reassuringly and Jared could tell he meant help not maintain perfection.**

**"OK, good. Now, the children are expecting you to stop by so that they can show you their rooms. Let's not keep them waiting. Just knock, announce yourself, and ask to come in for a quick visit."**

**Jared licked his lips but he nodded and walked up to the first door. He noticed that each door had the child's name etched into a special plaque. The first door was Jonathan's. He had a spaceship themed door. Jared knocked quietly and waited for the acknowledgement before he said, "Young master, master said you wanted to show me your room. Is now a good time, y** **oung** **master?"**

**"Yeah, come on in," Jonathan replied easily and watched as Jared tentatively opened the door. He continued talking as he sat up and put his book away, "Hey, Jared. I'm glad you made it. So this is my room, come on in, look around. You'll notice that all of our rooms are similarly designed." He smiled knowingly at his structure-loving father. "I wanted you to see mine first because it is the coolest and closest to what he is looking for in the way of organization. All of our clothes are organized the same way so they’re easy to put away.**

**"Feel free to look around,” he said as Jared slowly walked around the room looking at his shelves.** **"So, as you can see I like space. I'm hoping to specialize in aerospace in high school. I also love sports and I follow a few of the local teams." He knew better than to ask if Jared knew any of them.**

**"All of the best board games are stored in my room. Everyone is allowed to come in and borrow. I hope we can find a few that you’ll enjoy playing."**

**Jensen gave Jared another minute than cleared his throat. Jared jumped at the sudden noise but quickly schooled his features and made his goodbyes.**

**"Thanks for stopping by, Jared. I hope you will have time to hang out later this week."**

**Jared nodded politely and closed the door quietly after himself.**

**"That went well, Jared. You are doing really well. Just so you know, it’s OK to 'talk' to the kids."**

**Jared tipped his head slightly and stared at master not understanding. Had he done something wrong? He had listened carefully but he had not heard anything that would have required a comment.**

**Jensen carefully reached out to the boy, "It's easy, Jared. We are a family and families talk and respond to each other. I know you have it in you. You can do this. You were great talking to them when we were outside."**

**Jared looked down ashamed. So he had messed up. That was like the 6th time today. How many more would his new master really excuse? "Yes, master," he said quietly.**

**"I'm going to touch you but I will not hurt you." Jensen said as he placed a hand on his check and gently lifted the boy's face. "You have done nothing wrong. I'm not angry. You’re settling in. You’re learning about your new family. I know this is new and challenging. I know that I am throwing many things at you."** **He** **moved his hand around to the back of Jared's neck. "I am proud of you. I trust you. You’re doing fine."**

**Jared bit his bottom lip. Did his master really think that?**

**"You are my perfect boy. Are you ready to see Madelyn's room? It’s OK if you need a few minutes."**

**Jared shook his head and mustered his confidence,** **"Your slave is fine, Master. It** **can do this. It will do better for you." He did not wait for a response as he pulled away and faced a princess themed door. He took a stabilizing breath and knocked. "Little miss, it is… Jared. Master said you wanted me to come see your room?"**

**"Oh, yes, yes! Come in," she said excitedly as she flung the door open. "Hi. I'm glad you made it, yes, come right in. Dad, we’re good if you want to come back in 10 minutes," she said as sweetly as she could whole trying to block the doorway.**

**"Thanks for the offer but I think I’ll stay," Jensen said just as sweetly, as he pushed the door open farther.**

**Jared saw the frown that she gave her father and quickly intercepted. "So, Little Miss, this is your room?" He gestured around. "This slave sees that you like princesses?"**

**"Oh, yes. They’re the best. I have several different dolls to play with, clothes for dress up, and many books." She pointed out each section of her room then winked at him, "Have you ever played dress up?"**

**"Honey, we talked about this," her father interrupted with a gentle reminder.**

**She frowned again and nodded but looked like she had just lost her best playmate.**

**Jared was sure he was breaking a rule but he could not stand to see her that sad. "Master, may your slave answer?" He waited for the nod. "Little Miss, this slave has never had a chance to play with such wonderful toys as these."**

**He snuck a look at his master hoping he was not offering something he should not. "This slave has led a very sheltered life, Little Miss, it might need you to teach it how to play. Would you be interested in teaching this slave?"**

**Madelyn jumped up and down grinning. "Yes, yes, yes. I could do that." Then she looked at her dad. "Is it OK, Dad? He asked me, so can I?"**

**Jensen smiled and nodded. "Yes, but both of you, remember what we've talked about, OK?" He got nods from each of them. "Well, that’s good enough for me. Maddy, one thing I do know about Jared is that he is good at reading bedtime stories, so if you want to join him while he reads to Joshy, you may."**

**She continued jumping and squealing. "Yes, yes, please. I love bedtime stories. Are you really good, Jared?"**

**He forced himself to smile, "If master says," he said quietly and looked to his master for support.**

**"I've seen your tapes, Jared. The kids will love your stories." Jared blushed as he remembered making those tapes. "Honey, we are going to go check on Joshy. You ready, Jared?"**

**"Yes, master, ready as you say. Thank you for letting me visit, little miss."**

**"You’re welcome, Jared. Please come by anytime. And yes, I will teach you how to play."**

**Once the door closed and they were alone in the hallway, Jared tried to fall to a full kneel and** **apologize for overstepping** **his role.**

**Jensen held up his hand to pause the stream of words coming out of Jared's mouth. "You have done nothing wrong. You handled that well. Just so you know, I had told her to not make you play and that she needs to follow the same rules she uses when playing with her brothers.**

**"Namely: 1) no makeup unless you agree first; 2) everything has to be able to able to come off within hours; 3) ask first and accept 'no' as an answer; and 4) never when she has friends over.**

**"She can be pretty headstrong and I was trying to protect you but if you want to play then go for it. I too have spent many an hour as the ‘special guest’ at one of her delightful tea parties. They can be loads of fun. I hope you two enjoy yourselves. Just let me know if it gets out of hand, OK?"**

**Jared looked down and nodded, very relieved that he was not in trouble.**

**"By the way, you did great in there."**

**"Thank you, master," Jared said humbly.**

**Jensen smiled and gestured toward the last door. Before Jared could knock, Jensen reached out, "Just remember how exuberant he is, OK? Be ready for anything."**

**Jared smiled, remembering his first hug. He knocked on the door but before he could say anything, it was flung open.**

**"Jared, you made it. Come in, please," Joshua, said standing out of the way to let Jared in. Then he started to close the door not, realizing his dad was trying to come in too. "Oops. Sorry, Daddy, you can come in, too."**

**"Thanks** **," Jensen said sarcastically, gently rubbing his arm where the door had hit him.**

**"So this is my room. I have all of the coolest toys and the bestest books for reading. Daddy said you might take over reading me bedtime stories?"**

**Jared nodded carefully, "This slave would never try to replace your daddy but if you would like me to, this slave would be honored to read to you." Nervously he glanced over at his master; was it really OK to talk? "Do you have any favorite stories, little sir?"**

**"Oh, yes," Joshua said as he jumped around his room like a superhero fighting bad guys. "Guess what kind?"**

**"Hmmm, let me see." Jared took his time coming up with outrageous ideas even though one look around the boy’s room made it obvious. He wanted the boy to have fun.**

**Jensen leaned** **against his son's desk and watched the two interact. Jared was perfect. He kept the game fun and silly and didn't let it get frustrating for the little boy. Jensen was so proud of his boys. He knew his family would get along great together when he went back to work.**

**"Joshua, I'm sorry to steal your friend away, but we need to finish the tour. You’ll see him at dinner, OK?"**

**"Sure, Daddy, that’s fine. We have plenty of time to play later ‘cause Jared is never leaving. That's what you said, right, Daddy? He’s my new forever friend?"**

**"That's right, mister, he is. But remember what we talked about." He bent down so he was at his son’s level, "just like you, Jared has a lot of chores and responsibilities so he might not always be able to play right away. Understand, big guy?"**

**The little boy nodded somberly, "Yes, Daddy. I remember. The best way I can help you is by giving him time to finish his chores."**

**"Right, great job kiddo. For now, you keep playing I’ll call you for dinner, OK?"**

**"Yup, see you two later." Then Joshy quickly picked up his toy from where it had fallen and started playing again.**

**Jensen chuckled at his son's quick turnaround. "I wish I had his ability to refocus and bounce back. It would take me several minutes to regroup after that type of an interruption. Anyway, this next room is mine. I know that you will be doing all of the cleaning and laundry but it is not necessary for you to go into my room."**

**He was going to leave it at that but he could see the shocked almost scared look that his boy was trying to hide from him. Jared had studied hard; he had spent his whole life preparing to serve only in his master's bedroom. Yet now he was not even allowed in there? How had he failed so badly before he had even started?**

**Jensen was quick to reassure the boy. "You have done nothing wrong. This is not a punishment or a test. I want you to feel safe in this house. You will never have to go past this doorway. I can clean up after myself. I'll make sure my clothes get to the laundry room and you can just leave the cleaned clothes in a basket out here."**

**Jared bit his lip and looked down. Was he really such a failure that his master did not want him touching his things? What was wrong with him that made his master so determined not use him at all? "Yes, master, no going into your room."**

**"I'm going to touch you but I won't hurt you. Jared, what’s wrong?" he asked carefully while tipping the boy's head up.**

**Jared sucked in a quick breath. "Nothing, master. Your slave understands the rules and will follow your orders." He wanted to add how he lived to served and would do all that was asked of him but he knew that master forbade him talking like that.**

**Jensen could tell that his boy was not OK but now was not the time to get into it further. He forced himself to smile, "That's great, Jared. I'm so proud of you. You have done very well today. Let me show you your room and then you can rest before dinner. How does that sound?"**

**Jared was shocked at the praise, and almost missed the fact that his master was dismissing him from service for the day. "Your slave is ready to serve, master. Please, just let me know what you need," he said desperately, "Your..."**

**Jensen smiled, and with his hand still on the boy's shoulder, led him to the last door in the hallway. Jared noticed that it too had a plaque with his name. "I know you are a good boy. You have served me so well, today,” he repeated. “This is your room. I hope you are comfortable here. Please let me know if you need anything."**

**He held up a small key and gestured for the boy to open the door.**

**The boy faced the door and started to breathe faster. He was not OK. This was not right. He was not supposed to have permission to open locked doors. He was a.... "Master?" With his eyes still on the door, he begged for help.**

**Jensen smiled to himself excited that his boy had asked for help. "You are fine, my good boy. I will never ask you to do something that would get you into trouble. Remember, you are now a household caretaker."**

**He let the boy have a minute to internalize all that the change in designation meant for him; new rules, new expectations, and new privileges. "I'm sorry this is so sudden. I know it is hard. I know that most of your training will not serve you well now.”**

**He saw the boy tense and quickly continued, "I’ll give you time to get used to your new role. I am not mad. You are fine, you're my good boy." Jensen stroked the boy’s hair gently. He talked slowly and calmly, letting his boy take the comfort and strength he needed.**

**"You can take all the time you need, OK? I won't give up on you. I’ll be right here if you need help. I know you can do this. When you are ready just open the door and walk in. You are safe. No one here will hurt you." He pressed the key into the boy's hand and waited.**

**Jared had continued to face the door as he listened carefully. His master wanted him to do this and that trumped all of the societal rules he had been taught. He would always be protected as long as his master had given him an order. Master had ordered him to open the door so he had to open the door. Slowly, he reached out, put the key into the lock, and turned the handle. He let the door swing open.**

**He was so nervous as he stepped inside but he did not let himself stop or turn around until he had taken 3 steps. He hoped that was far enough for his master because he did not think he could go anymore. As it was, he was holding in a whimper.**

**"Great job, Jared," Jensen said quietly, reassuringly as he waited by the door. Jared turned to face him. "Take a look around. What do you think? I know it is bigger than most slave spaces but I want you to be comfortable.**

**"As you have seen, that key unlocks the door. I want you to keep that copy. You have permission to lock this door whenever you want. By law, I have to have a copy of it but it is hidden from everyone else. I will only use it if I think you are in trouble or if the court demands it of me."**

**He knew that Jared wouldn't really trust him yet but he hoped this next part helped. "What makes this door so special is that it can be locked from your side too." He paused and watched his baby boy go a shade whiter.**

**Jensen watched as his boy went a shade whiter, "Jared, you are fine. Go sit on the bed, if you are feeling faint," he said firmly.**

**The boy nodded and sat down heavily.**

**"Put your elbows on your knees and lean forward. I want you to take some slow, deep breaths. OK? You can do this, in and out. Yes, just like that." After a few more breathes he questioned, "Do you feel better?"**

**When he looked up, Jared saw his m** **aster looked** **worried. Master was leaning into the room but he had not entered. "Yes, Master," he said shakily. His master had stayed out. Just like he said he would. "Thank you, Master. Your slave is sorry to have worried you." He pulled himself together and returned to where he had been standing. "Your slave is fine now, master, and ready to continue the tour."**

**Jensen smiled and relaxed against the doorframe nodding. That was close. But he had his boy back. "OK. I didn't mean to startle you. But I want you to feel safe here. So, this is here for your protection." He patted the chair by the wall, "at night, if you don't feel safe you can wedge this chair under the door handle** **and lock the door** **by pushing this button. Like this, see? Would you like to practice it?"**

**He shook his head in fright and took an involuntary step back.**

**Jensen held up his hands, “OK. No problem. You don't have to, just know that you have permission to shut and lock this door anytime you want to, OK?"**

**Jared nodded quickly.**

**"OK, good boy. Now, you also have permission to verbally deny entry into your room to everyone. Do you understand what that means?"**

**Jared was having enough trouble thinking about telling a free child that he did not want to play right now but this was so far beyond that. He shook with fright.**

**"I think you understand, Jared. But it is really scary, huh?"**

**The boy licked his lips nervously and nodded.**

**Suddenly, he looked up and saw y** **oung** **master in his doorway. He pulled himself up straighter as the boy knocked on his open door.**

**"Hey, Jared, I thought I'd come by and see if you had found everything. Is it OK if I come in for a second?" he asked excitedly then waited for the answer.**

**Jared threw a panicked look to his master. Who just shrugged indicating that it was his choice.** **_Free citizens always have permission to enter._ ** **"Yes, y** **oung** **master! Of course," he quickly said and stood at attention.** **_Always stand hands behind your back or kneel in the presence of free citizens even children._ **

**"Hey, thanks. So what do you think? It's kinda cool in here, huh? Did you check out the bathroom yet?" he asked pointing to a closed door in the far corner of the room. As he heard his father clear his throat he added with a chuckle, "Oh, sorry. I got caught up in the fun."**

**He turned to face Jared. "Father wanted me to help you practice saying 'not now, maybe later' to us kids. It really is OK to tell us that, we are impatient and annoying and sometimes we do need to be told that the adults are working. It won't really hurt us to wait. He even thinks it will build character," he threw Jared a smart-ass smile and wink as he walked back to the door.**

**"So this time when I ask, it is OK to tell me 'no', OK?" He held eye contact with Jared, "do you think you can do that?" he asked carefully.**

**Jared pressed his lips together and looked up to master for help. Receiving none, he nodded stiffly. "Yes, y** **oung** **master, whenever you are ready." Then he turned around so that he would not have to look at the freemen as he told them 'no'.**

**"Hey, Jared," Jonathan called out as he knocked on the open door.**

**"Yes, y** **oung** **master? How may this slave help you?" he said nervously.**

**"Oh, I just wanted to come by to say 'hi'. Can I come in for a few?"**

**He took a deep breath and said as bravely as he could. "Now is not a good time, y** **oung** **master. Could you come back later, please?"**

**"Sure, not a problem. See ya soon," t** **hen h** **e pretended to walk away. "Jared, that was great."**

**"You can turn around now, Jared. It is over. You did wonderfully. I am so proud of you," master praised.**

**Jared stood still and shook. That had taken so much out of him. He was not sure he could turn around. "Master?" he said nervously.**

**"Yes, Jared?" he asked carefully, preparing himself to either rush into the room or to escort his son away from the door. He wasn't sure what kind of help his boy would need.**

**"Can you come in here? Please, Master?" Jared's voice trembled as he tried to stay strong in front of young master.**

**"I'm right here. You can relax. I've got you." And Jared could feel strong arms holding him up. "You did great. I'm so proud of you. Do you want to sit down?"**

**He shook his head. "Your slave will be OK in a second. Your slave just needed..."**

**"I'm right here. Take all of the time you need." After a full 2 minutes, he gently asked, "Jonathan is still in the hallway. Would you like him to come back later?"**

**Jared tried to turn around to check but** **Jensen** **just held him firmly in place. "He is? He didn't leave?"**

**"He stayed to see if you were OK. He was worried about you." Jensen said with pride. He was so glad that his family was accepting Jared into their lives.**

**He glanced up, to his master's face, in shock.**

**"Really. So, can he come in?"**

**He nodded and master let him go. "Young master, thank you for waiting. This slave is fine. Would you still like to come in?" he gestured toward his room.**

**"Cool, thanks. I'm glad you're feeling better. You did great by the way." He looked around. "So, I know it doesn't have any little touches of 'you' yet but we have time.**

**"As Madelyn said, all of your other clothes are put away in here," he tapped the bureau, "arranged the same way as mine or in the closet." He said as he walked over to a closed door.**

**Jared wanted to rush over and investigate how many outfits he was given but he knew now was not the time. He would find out when master let him. Instead, he stood still and nodded toward each item showing that he had heard the information.**

**"Well,** **you can check them out later. As I tried to say earlier, your bathroom is over here." He said walking over and opening the door up, "it's pretty large. We stocked it with the same brands that Father uses but if you want some other type, just let us know."**

**Jared had walked over near the door and peaked in. It did look huge and well stocked. And were those towels for him to use? They looked so thick and soft.**

**He was surprised that he had real products and not the slave equivalents. Since he would not be servicing his master, he had expected to get the specially made products that were cheaper, harsher on his skin, worked with cold water, and showed him his true place. Did these real products mean he could use the warm water?**

**"Oh, I can't wait to show you..."**

**"Jonathan, I think that's enough for now. Head back to your room and we will let Jared get settled in, OK?" his father said as easily as he could when he saw Jared getting nervous again.**

**"Sure, that's fine. Jared thanks for inviting me in. I know it has been a long day. Get some rest, OK? I'll come by another time, OK?"**

**Jared nodded. He was feeling overwhelmed.**

**After his guest left, Jared faced his master. "Thank you for making your slave feel welcome, master. How may your slave serve you and thank you?"**

**Jensen knew what Jared was really asking and forced himself to smile. "You are very welcome, Jared. I'm glad that you feel that way. The best way to thank me is to relax and to keep being you. I do not need anything else from you right now. I would like you to meet me in the living room in 1 hour so that we can talk some more about the rules. Until then, please take some time in here to relax. You may sleep; look over your wardrobe, read, or take a shower. Alright?"**

**"Yes, master, as you say. Your slave will relax and meet you in 1 hour."**

**"Great. While you are here, I expect you to sleep on the bed. If it is too soft, let me know and we can change the mattress. It is no problem, I already a firmer one in the garage, OK?"**

**The boy nodded. His master had given him so many privileges and had thought of so much. He felt so lucky.**

**"Great. Also, the shower has wonderful water pressure and you are expected to not take cold showers, unless you 'need' to but even then your body is your own and you should not deny yourself pleasure. Understand?" he said with a wink.**

**Jared stared open mouthed. He was not sure which was more shocking, his master ordering him to use the hot water or encouraging him masturbate whenever he wanted.**

**"Oh, just so you know..." he added almost as an afterthought, "the best part about this room is the window. It can be opened from the bottom. Just make sure to shut it when you leave the room, OK?" he said as he backed out of the room.**

**Jared turned around quickly and called out, "Master? Clarifying question?"**

**"Of course." Jensen replied easily and stepped back into the room.**

**"Your slave can open the window, master?"**

**"Yes."**

**"Even at night, master?"**

**"Yes." He smiled easily, "they are 'approved' safety windows and will only open like 6 inches; there's no way for anyone to sneak out so that is a whole hearted, yes. I know how important fresh air is to kids, so yes, you may keep them open as often and as long as you like. Yes, you may even sleep with the window open. I'm going to leave you to rest but know that you can come find me if you need anything or think of any questions."**

**"Thank you, Sir!" he called out as his door was shut. Then after carefully opening the window, he laid down on his bed. What a lucky boy he was. Jared let himself fall asleep, clutching the little turtle, knowing he would wake before he needed to meet his Master.**

**When Jonathan saw his father walk by his door, he put his book away and followed him to the living room. "Father?" He called out tentatively and waited to be acknowledged. His father was always open and willing to talk with his children, never dismissing them when he was working or tired but today was such a 'special' day maybe he needed time alone?**

**"Hey, Jonathan, come on in. What's up? Did you need something?" He answered easily as he sat up and looked his son over. How was he taking today?**

**"I just wanted to check on you," he admitted. "I know you were pretty worried about today..." The boy tapered off not sure how to continue.**

**His father held open his arms and waited for his oldest son to give him a hug and sit near him on the couch. "I'm fine. Thanks for the concern. Yes, today has been a busy and full day but everything thing went well. Most things went according to plan and everyone is settling in well."**

**He looked he boy over wondering if there was something specific he wanted to discus. "Thank you for your help. It is very important to me that Jared practice saying 'no' to you kids." He was wondering how to give him more practice and how to impress the importance to his son.**

**"I understand now, Father," he said as he pushed himself up and sat at the other end of the couch so they could face each other. "I saw how hard it was for him, he was really shaking.**

**"Several of my friends have slaves of their own or at least family slaves. I have seen how they are ordered around. The slaves never react but now that I have seen Jared..." he shivers involuntarily.**

**"I don't like it at all. I know my friends are within their rights so I don't try to stop them. I remember what you said about being watchful and not causing scenes but I do try to minimize it when I can. One of my peers does it to piss me off so I have been finding ways to avoid him.**

**"Most of my friends don't even realize they are doing anything wrong. It's so sad. I would never want to make Jared feel like that. I want him to be part of our family. I know that from the outside it has to 'look' like he is a slave but we can still help him relax and have fun, right?"**

**Jensen was so proud of his son. The boy understood so much and he was a natural master. It didn't matter that Jared was technically almost 2 years older, Jonathan had talked slowly, clearly, and with thought. Jensen had been impressed with how well he had calmed Jared down when they were outside. Jonathan copied all of his moves correctly; from the way he touched the boy gently, to even remembering to give the touch warning.**

**Jensen realized that his son was waiting for an answer. He chuckled softly, amazed that his son looked so young right now. "Yes, we can. He is ours so no one can stop us from treating him like a person. Over the next few weeks, he will start taking on more responsibilities around the house; including caring for you, Maddy, and Joshy.**

**"We will go slowly with exposing him to others. That’s why I said not friends over this week. As I said earlier, he is very smart but this is not what he was trained for so we will go slow and show him how our family does things."**

**"Father, if I may," he asked nervously, "why did you choice him and not someone older or with true training?"**

**Jensen smiled at his son, "Feel free to come to me with any questions you have when we are alone like this. I'm proud of you for thinking of these questions. I did it because it will actually work out better in the end. He is nervous right now and needs to be taught everything but this way he will really be ours."**

**Jonathan scrunched up his face in concentration.**

**"Well-trained house slaves come with certain expectations about how a house should be run. Most are rigid in how they perform tasks and talk with others. More like your friends’ domestic." He shot his son a look by raising an eyebrow. "That would mean no more pizza & movie nights, no more ice cream sundaes for breakfast on Sunday's, and no more chores for you kids."**

**Jonathan laughed at his father's examples. "Got it! Although I could do without the chores if we had too." They sat quietly for a few minutes while Jonathan pondered how to ask his next question. "So how do we get him to 'stand tall'?"**

**Jensen nodded, "It is on the list. The main thing is helping him feel comfortable here. As a body slave, several things have been drilled into him. 1) anything that goes wrong is his fault and he will immediately and willing seek punishment to correct himself, 2) he can be sold for any little slip up. 3) masters prefer small, thin, weak slaves, and 4) his pleasure should come from serving his master only, rewards should not be expected and will be given sparingly and taken away quickly."**

**"That's why he thought the rule about smiling was a bad thing?” Jonathan said with understanding.**

**His father nodded, "Yes, the only rules he has ever had were ways to limit him or test him. They never brought 'good' things. For him rewards and privileges are scary things. Which is why I was worried about the books you got for him."**

**"I don't get it. How can a book be scary?"**

**"If he shows too much interest or excitement it could be taken away to 'teach him a lesson'. If he doesn't show enough excitement, he could be punished for not appreciating all that is given to him. It is a dangerous and ever changing fine line that he has to walk."**

**The boy looked down ashamed, "I'm sorry, Father. I did not know. I really did just want to give him something to do. I didn't mean to cause him anxiety. Do you think he is still worried about the books?"**

**Jensen reached across the open space and squeezed his son's shoulder reassuringly, "I know. I can tell you care about him as a person already. I also know that this is a growing experience for you too. It will take some time but we will find our path together. We are going to build our own system, as a family," he said with a wink.**

**His son nodded, "So we just keep talking to him, offering him challenges, and setting doable rules and he will adjust to us?"**

**His father nodded, "That's about it. Sounds simple, huh? You kids keep reassuring him and thanking him. Make sure to include him in your fun games and soon he will forget to slouch. I will work on getting him to feel accepted for who he is, a gigantic, every growing moose of a man and soon he will become our image of the perfect Jared. Sound good?"**

**"Yeah. Sounds doable and good. I'll let you rest before you have to go get him."**

**"What do you mean?" Jensen asked confused, was he going somewhere?**

**"Didn't you need to talk to him again?"**

**He laughed, "Yes, son, we are going to talk but I don't have to go get him. Jared has perfect timing. His organization and timing were skills I sought out. My last instruction was for him to meet me here in 1 hour, and even without setting his alarm, he will be here then."**

**"Even if he falls asleep?" he asked skeptically, "he looked pretty tired earlier, like he was barely holding it together."**

**Jensen laughed. "Yes, even then. Keep your door open slightly and you will see. Now scram. I'm sure you have some homework to finish up." He said jokingly and pushed his son back to his room.**

**"Alright, fine. See you later." He grumbled but did as his father asked. He was amazed when at the 45-minute mark he could hear Jared's shower turn on. It only ran for 5 minutes then everything was quiet again until at 58 minutes, Jared's door opened and he made his way carefully to the living room.**

**Once at the open doorway, Jared knocked quietly on the frame and waited to be acknowledged. When he saw his master look up, he announced himself. He remembered his master's orders about not using scripted lines, "Hello, master, it has been an hour. Did you still wish to see your slave?" he asked tentatively.**

**His master smiled easily and invited him in with a wave of his hand. It still amazed him to see a smiling master but he pushed himself into the room and over to the couch. He looked at it quickly and then sat down hoping he was reading his master correctly.**

**Jensen nodded and kept the smile on his face while he silently congratulated Jared on sitting on the couch. He allowed Jared a few moments to get used to the idea of sitting at the same level as his master.**

**"Thank you for following my directions so well. Did you enjoy spending some down time in your room?" He said as carefully as he could. He knew that questions would freak Jared out on so many levels but he needed to get his boy used to being questioned.**

**"Yes, master." He glanced up and quickly tried to think up a way to say, 'master was very kind to grant me time to prepare myself. Your slave is ready to be of service.' That was sure to be considered a 'learned phrase' and those were forbidden. It was the only thing he had been told not to do. "Thank you," was the best he could come up with to say.**

**It seemed to please his master because he went on with another question. "You are welcome. I don't want to pry but I hope you relaxed."**

**Jared pulled into himself then; what kind of master didn't want to pry? Was this a trick? Was it just a 'nice' was of demanding an answer? He decided it was better to answer the unasked question than to sit there. "Yes, Master. Your slave rested on the bed and then washed up."**

**He looked down and risked adding, "Thank you for the wonderful products. Your slave understands they may not be replenished so will use them sparingly but they were lovely today, master."**

**"You are very welcome, Jared. I'm going to touch you but I won't hurt you." He said and tipped the boy's chin up, "I love when you look me in the eyes. I know it is typical for slaves to avoid eye contact but you have permission to always look up unless I order otherwise. I'm glad you enjoyed the products. I know that I like them.**

**"Just so there is no confusion, I do plan on replenishing them so please add them to the list anytime they are getting low. You do not have to wait for them to be out or for me to ask, just add them to the list when you need more. Also, as Jonathan said, if you think that you would like to try a different type or different fragrance, just make a note."**

**"Thank you, Master, that is very generous of you! I hope I can live up to your kindness and the expense," he said amazed that his master would offer him something so valuable.**

**He smiled at the boy and gently brushed his finger over the trembling cheek. "You are fine, Jared. You are very welcome." He paused to look the boy over, "Jared, just know that to me and my family... you already are worth more to me than those products." He kept his fingers gently moving over the boy's skin until he felt him relax.**

**"And I'm counting this as your 4th time showing real emotion today. You are doing so well. I am so proud of you and your efforts. I hope you are thinking about what you would like for your reward. It looks like you might earn it before dinner," he said with a wink.**

**Jared's body wanted to tense up. No reward had ever ended well for him. Sure, it might seem good right then but the next day the trainers and guards were stricter or the other slaves more distant. But he wanted to believe that with the gentle way master was treating him that it might actually be a 'good treat'. "Yes, master, working on earning a reward for you," he said quietly.**

**Jensen gave him a smile but he seemed sad. He thought he might be in trouble but master kept touching his cheek lightly. "I'm glad you're working so hard. You're a good boy. I'm proud of you," then he let his hand drop and he sat back into the couch corner.**

**They sat there for several minutes. Jensen was not used to sitting still for so long but he wanted Jared to get used to being near him. There were several things they could talk about but he didn't want to rush his boy.**

**When he noticed Jared getting twitchy, he started. "We have a simple life here, Jared. The kids get up in the morning, go to school, come home around 3 pm, do homework, chores, and play until dinner then we spend time as a family. I know you will be a big help to me getting them ready for school. I looked hard at the profile pages to find a boy who could help them with both their homework and their play skills.**

**"You did wonderfully today. They are each so different and you were able to talk with each of them on their level; Joshy, my energetic chatter box, Maddy, my preteen emotional princess, and Johnny, my head strong leader.**

**"This next week will be full of new learning experiences for all of us but I'm confident that we will make this work out. As I said earlier, they will not be ordering you around. I understand that is one reason most families get slaves but I want them to see you more as a servant than a slave and eventually as more of a friend than a servant.**

**"I know this is very new to you. I know this is not a very common practice. I hope that you will come to trust me and know that I really want this and that I will protect you." He paused and stared at Jared willing him to understand. "I didn't just jump into this decision. Also, I didn't just buy any old slave today. I chose you, Jared, to be part of this family. Can you see the difference?"**

**Jared was moved by the intensity of his master's words but this was all so new. Could he really give Master all that he asked? Could he live up to this image? He started to breathe a little faster until he realized the question was simpler than all that; did he see the difference? Nothing more was required of him.**

**He did not have to live up to the demands or even think he could. He just had to see the difference. He could do that. He just hoped that he was reading Master correctly and not being disrespectful by cheating.**

**He could not risk words, in case he was wrong, but he tried to smile as he nodded.**

**It seemed to please his master, who squeezed him gently then smiling said, "Good. I'm glad you can see the difference. You are my smart boy. I'm very proud of you, Jared. You are my good boy," he winked and nodded for a reply.**

**"Yes, Master, your good boy," he said as steadily as he could manage. He was so excited to have earned such high praise on his first day. Now he just had to strive to keep his Master this happy.**

**"That's right, my good boy." Jensen smiled and touched the boy gently, he knew he needing to give the boy time to digest this major concept.**

**"Now, it is almost time to get lunch started." But first, there was one more rule he needed to tell the boy about. "I want you to know that I will work hard to protect you, as I do my children. A big part of that will involve how freemen are allowed to interact with you."**

**He paused when he saw fright in his boy's eyes. "Hear me out," he pleaded and grasp the boy's shoulder, "Jared, I want you safe."**

**"Yes, master, you want your slave safe," he repeated back dutifully.**

**"Yes, and to that end I have a new rule for you. Jared, you are not to kneel or assume any position for any freeman unless I specifically order you to."**

**"Yes, master, no kneeling or assuming potions for freemen without your prior approval." He glanced up questioningly, "Master, clarifying question?"**

**"Yes, Jared?" he encouraged.**

**"Master, what should your slave do when you are not present?" he asked nervously. It would not happen often right now since he was stuck in the house but if master was serious about bringing him to the office... it was bound to happen, often. Offices were scary places for unaccompanied slaves.**

**Jensen smiled proudly. "My smart boy, don't worry, I was getting to that. You have permission to let all freemen know that you are spoken for, that you need to seek your master's approval, and to leave any scene that is too stressful or dangerous."**

**Jared was well trained but he sat there with his mouth open unsure how to respond. That was so much more then he had been taught how to do. That was almost going against the law. Could he really pull that off?**

**"Breathe, Jared. It shouldn't happen too soon so you will have time to get used to the idea and we can practice with my close friends. It is a safety net for you. I have already sent a memo to the people that I work with so it should not happen there. I just wanted you to be prepared." He looked the boy over, “OK? You still with me?" He held on to the boy's shoulders and stared into his eyes.**

**The boy nodded mutely. He definitely had to think on this.**

**"OK, so to recap... no kneeling or assuming positions, you have permission respectfully to talk to all freemen," he nodded. "Within reason, you will get yourself out of scary situations, and you will ask questions when confused. Got it?" He raised an eyebrow in question and studied the boy.**

**Jared hid a smirk and tipped his head a little, "Yeah, I'll stay safe." He said as nonchalantly as he could before he snuck a look at Master.**

**Jensen broke into a fit of laughter. "Is that how bad we freemen sound? Man, that's awful. But ya, you get the idea. Now, Maddy is in charge of lunch today and I think I hear her out in the kitchen. Why don't you go see if you can help her?"**

**"Yes, master, I will go assist little miss," he said as he rose gracefully and left.**


	4. Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the most non-con scene but Jensen keeps our good boy safe.

**When Jared arrived at the kitchen doorway, he paused not sure how to announce himself. Was she expecting him? Was he already late? There was not a door to knock on or to open. He could clearly see little miss dancing around the kitchen to what he thought was a classic rock station that was quietly playing on the radio.**

**She seemed so happy and relaxed. What if he frightened her? What if she did not really want help? What if...**

**Just then, she turned and saw him in the doorway. "Hey, there you are. Are you done chatting with Dad?"**

**He drew himself up, and started to kneel when he caught himself. "Yes, Little Miss. Master is done for now. He asked me to check on you. Would like some help?" He asked as carefully as he could.**

**She smiled and waved him in, "Great, yeah, come on over and I'll show you around. We figured a simple lunch of lasagna would be good for your first meal." She had grabbed his hand and led him to the counter. "So we have a salad, garlic bread, and the lasagna to make.**

**"Dad said that you only took basic lessons but that's fine because this family is a little weird with how we like things so many of our recipes are adapted to fit our needs. So over the next few weeks, one of us will be with you to show you how we like things, OK? It is not because we don't trust you or anything though, OK? We all just like to cook and it is fun spending time together." She touched his arm gently and tried to coax a smile out of him.**

**He felt it was forced but he did not want her to feel bad. He could tell it was not that they did not trust him to learn on his own.**

**"OK, great. And just know that you can chat and ask questions as we go, OK?"**

**He nodded.**

**"Good. I'm gonna keep the music on low but let me know if it is too much or if you want a different station, OK?"**

**He nodded again but could not see himself asking her to change the station to fit his needs.**

**"Great, let's start on the lasagna and then we can set the table while it is cooking. Have you made or eaten one before?" She asked carefully while getting out the box of noodles.**

**Being trained as a pleasure slave, Jared had only the most basic of lessons in cooking. Typical masters would keep pleasure slaves chained up in their second bedroom and feed them tiny portions or specially created protein shakes to keep them looking like hot models. A few were spoiled and allowed to eat specialty foods like caviar and items served at 5 star restaurants that were created by personal chefs.**

**Since the training centers never knew what type of master a slave would be sold to, they were all given a 3-month course in recognizing top food items. As the final test, they were served a sampling size portion of each food. This was also done so that they would not react poorly if served the item by their master.**

**After the course they were back to eating their regular diet of mash and pellets for the rest of their stay at the training center.**

**"It was not covered in the cooking lessons but this slave has seen pictures and was able to try a bite once, Little Miss," Jared admitted thinking of his favorite trainer.**

**"OK, so you know the general idea is to layer pasta, sauce, and cheese then bake till gooiness and warmth is achieved," she winked at him and he let out a chuckle.**

**Then realizing what he had done, he tried to drop to his knees, "Oh, Little Miss, this slave is so sorry. This slave apologizes..."**

**She grabbed his hands and looked him right in the eyes. "Jared, you listen to me, laughing is a key step to all of my recipes. If you are not smiling and laughing then you are doing something wrong. I want to hear your laugh and see your smile." Then she paused, she didn't want to come on too hard but she wanted him to understand.**

**He tried to pull back. He should not let the kids touch him like this. What if...**

**"Jared, look at me." She waited a few heartbeats ‘till he was able to, "I like cooking, I like your laugh, Dad will not be mad at you if you relax and enjoy yourself. OK?"**

**He tried to turn around and check the doorway.**

**"Hey, we are a family. We protect each other. I won't do anything to get you in trouble. OK?"**

**He bit his lip and nodded. He was not sure he trusted her yet but he knew she believed what she was saying.**

**"OK, then smiles on and let's get cooking." Then she showed him the kitchen while having him help her put together the meal. Once the lasagna was in the oven and the timer was set, she started pulling stuff out to set the table.**

**"OK, so this is the stuff that Joshy uses because he is still too young to handle the big silverware." She showed him the smaller items and had him place it on the table at the boy's spot.**

**"Now, Johnny and I can use real silverware and the small sized plates but we both like the smaller forks rather than the longer ones that Dad and Grandpa use." She pulled them out and showed him the difference in length. "Which do you think you want?" She asked so casually he did not even hear the question ‘till she prompted him.**

**"Me, Little Miss?" he asked so shocked that he did not even phrase it correctly and he almost went on to add that he did not use real people items.**

**"Yes, you, silly. What do you think you are going to do, eat this hot food with your fingers?" She laughed at him until she saw his face. "Jared, no! We would never... Dad!" She called when she realized that was what the boy had expected. How could anyone treat a person that way?**

**"No, little miss, please?" He hurried to say hoping to stop her from calling in master. He was sorry he had upset her. He would make it better.**

**"Yeah Maddy, what's up?" He came running to the kitchen but tried to sound calm as he took in the scene before him. He knew there would be misunderstandings over the next few weeks but his daughter sounded so scared. He trusted Jared but this was his baby girl who was calling for help.**

**"Dad, Jared..."**

**"This slave is sorry, master!" he said and threw himself at his owner’s feet.**

**Jensen threw a concerned look toward his daughter then tried to get Jared to stand up. When the boy didn't respond to physical cues, he ordered, "Jared, explain what happened," as easily as he could. He needed more info before he could proceed.**

**"We were setting the table and this slave offended, little miss, master. This slave apologizes and seeks retraining, master."**

**Jensen looked at the shocked look on his daughter's face. He held up a hand to stop her from interrupting. "Did you intentionally hurt her?"**

**"No master. Never.** **_A slave will never hurt a free person_ ** **." He repeated the learned phrase without rising.**

**"Dad..."**

**He held up a hand to stop her. He knew how he had to handle this. "Did you follow all of her directions?"**

**"Yes, Master.** **_A slave will follow directions quickly and completely._ ** **"**

**"Did you ask clarifying questions as per my orders?"**

**Jared had to replay the episode over in his head and was slower to answer. "Yes, master. Although this slave must apologize it did not use the proper phrases," he quivered and tried to bow lower.**

**"That is acceptable. You were ordered to ask not told a prescribed sentence to use. Did you attempt to answer her questions?"**

**Jensen was still touching Jared's shoulder and could feel him shiver at this question.**

**"Yes, ma...master. Your sla..."**

**"Hush then. You have not offended her and you have followed all orders given to you. You are forgiven with no retraining needed." He brushed his fingers through the boy's soft long hair in hopes of relaxing him. "When you are able, please stand and face me."**

**"Yes, master." He said as he pushed himself up. "Thank you for your benevolent treatme..."**

**"Remember, Jared, no learned phrases," he carefully reminded.**

**The boy ducked his head and sucked in a quick breath. "Sorry, Master." Then he bit his tongue unsure how to apologize.**

**Jensen smiled easily hoping to relax the boy. "I am going to touch you but I will not hurt you." He said as he walked carefully into Jared's space and hugged him. Then he whispered in his ear, "I am proud of you, Jared. I can tell you are trying hard to follow my orders. As I have said, I know this is VERY different from what you have trained for.**

**"I am not expecting perfection, I am expecting you to give effort, and I can see you are trying very hard. I can see you pushing yourself to please me. I am very pleased with what I have seen today." When he was done talking, he held on for a few more seconds before withdrawing to a safe distance.**

**"Now, Maddy, what did you ask of my baby boy?" he asked carefully.**

**"Um, we were setting the table," she pointed and then held up the silverware.**

**"Oh,” Jensen thought back over to his tour and realized that he never let Jared know that the spot to his right would now be Jared's. "That was my bad, sorry guys. Maddy, will you excuse Jared and I for a moment." He so did not want to do this in front of his young daughter.**

**"Sure, Dad, OK. I'll be in my room, I guess.” She eyed him wearily not sure, why she couldn't stay.**

**"Thank you, dear," he said sweetly. Knowing he will have to come up with an explanation later, one that would let her know about Jared's fear without showing her the truly dark side of slavery.**

**Once she was gone, Jared attempted to drop to his knees again. He knew he was in real trouble, with the sensitive girl banished so she would not see the damage done to him, master could retrain him appropriately, "Maste..."**

**He orders and points to the chair that will be Jared's, as he sees the boy start to drop. "Jared, come over here."**

**"Yes, master, coming." Jared replies but cannot keep the tremble out of his voice. It had been such a nice day. He tries to blink back the tears that want to form. He is better than this. He has been trained to take punishments. Following this simple order should not be this hard. But he feels he has let his gentle master down and that hurts more than the beating will.**

**He jumps when a hand is placed on his shoulder. "I am going to touch you but I won't hurt you. I just want to turn you to face the table." The boy lets himself be turned and led to the table.**

**"Now, this is our family kitchen table. Every member of my family has a spot. I sit here, to my left is my youngest son, who still needs his food cut up. Next, is my oldest son. Next, is an open spot for their grandfather, who occasionally drops by and eats with us. Or for Christian, if we are working late on a project. Next, is my darling daughter.**

**"As you can see, there is one more chair at the table. You are touching it so I know you know it is there. Typically, it would be for my wife but she passed away 3 years ago and since then that spot has been empty."**

**The boy tried to remove his hands from the sacred placeholder.**

**"Not so fast, my good boy," Jensen said carefully. "That chair represents love, trust, commitment, and faith. I have looked for years for just the right person to ask to sit in that seat. I wanted someone I could trust to help me raise my children. Someone I could see spending many years with. Someone who would love my children as much as I do. Finally, I have found that person." He paused hoping he would not have to go on. He gave the boy time to figure it out on his own. To see the magnitude of his trust and commitment that was being offered.**

**"Master? Clarifying question?" He said tentatively after chancing a quick look around the kitchen.**

**"Yes?"**

**"Is this really... your slave's seat?" He said in a whisper without looking away from his hands.**

**"Yes, if you accept," Jensen answered softly then simply waited.**

**"Your slave does not have to eat out of a bowl on the floor?" The boy was stunned.**

**"No."**

**"Your slave does not have to kneel by your chair and be fed from your hand?"**

**"No."**

**"Your slave can really sit while you eat?"**

**"Yes, and I expect you to eat the same food as us and more importantly at the same time."**

**The boy looked up with bulging eyes and an open mouth. He had to try several times before he could go on. "Your slave can eat... your food?"**

**"Yes, at the same time. I don't want it getting cold." He touched the boy gently on the shoulder. "You will start with a child sized portion and work up from there. Know that you have blanket permission and are encouraged to have seconds of any food that you like. As I said earlier, you are a growing boy and I want you to grow even taller."**

**"Yes, Master, your slave will sit... in his assigned seat, beside you at your table, eating your food as ordered." Then he snuck a look from under his bangs, "Thank you, Sir!"**

**"You are very welcome, Jared," he said and let out the breath he had been holding. "I'm very sorry that I didn't go over this earlier. I had meant to but I am often distracted by little things. Let's see, any other tidbits for the kitchen that you need to know?" He said while glancing around.**

**Jensen pointed sternly to the dogs’ bowls, wanting to make sure there was no confusion. "You know those are for the dogs, right?" The boy nodded miserably, how could he have doubted his sweet master?**

**"Everyone eats at the table, yeah we just covered that. OK, silverware, was what you two were on?" He said as he walked over to the counter and started opening drawers, “OK, so here is one of my set ups. And it looks like Maddy showed you hers. You have your pick from this drawer. Which do think you want to try tonight? You can always pick something else tomorrow, no pressure."**

**The boy looked the choices over. He could handle the big silverware. He was a big guy, as his master would not let him forget, and he had good hand eye coordination so he carefully pointed to the larger set.**

**"OK, cool, easy, right? For now, I want you to have a little plate." Jensen said as he pulled down the one that he was thinking would work best. "It will make your plate look full so I won't keep trying to make you eat too much but it will show you that you really are not eating that much more then the kids.**

**"Cups? Um, how thirsty do you get?"**

**"Facility slaves are never allowed to drink more than 4 oz at a meal, Master," he admitted reluctantly. Would he really be allowed more? Wouldn't it be a waste? Wouldn't it just make him want more?**

**"OK, small glass it is. Try this one tonight and we can go from there." He said and pulled out a plastic cup similar to what the baby was using. "Don't worry. We will move you up to a glass like mine within a few days. This is just the only 'small' glass that I have without breaking out the 'good china'.” Jensen added when he saw the involuntary grimace of getting a baby cup.**

**He looked around the kitchen. "OK, that should be fine for now. Let me go get Maddy and explain everything then you two can finish up."**

**Jared backup up quickly so that he was not blocking his master's way, "Yes, master, your slave will wait here for her return."**

**Jensen noticed how quiet the boy had become. "Jared, I am proud of you for asking questions. You are following every order and settling in just like I hoped you would."**

**Jared felt his chin quiver, "Yes, master, following orders," he replied failing to maintain eye contact.**

**"And... making Master very happy," Jensen prompted with a raised eyebrow.**

**Jared snuck a look before he could repeat that phrase back, "and making master happy." Then as Jensen was leaving, "Master?"**

**When Jensen heard the tentative question, he turned back, giving his boy his complete attention.**

**"Clarifying question, please, why are you having your slave repeat these words if you don't like learned phrases?" He was very nervous and he started chewing on the inside of his cheek but he needed to know. How were these things different from what the training center taught him?**

**"Oh, Jared!" He exhaled and ran his hands through his hair as the boy fought to stay standing. "You must be very confused by all of this. Tomorrow when the kids are at school we will have plenty of time to talk, OK?" The boy gulped at having earned his first punishment. And if he had to wait until tomorrow for it so the children would not bear witness then it would be bad. "Yes, master, I await retraining. Thank you for your time and effort." He said as confidently as he could and tied not to shake. He had earned this, it was master's right to teach him respect. He had been trained for this. He....**

**The next thing he knew, his master's hands were on him, gently patting his shoulders. "It's nothing like that, Jared." He heard master say and took a moment to focus on his master's face, which did not look angry. "For now, just know that these phrases are to help you relax, so you hear the true meaning of what I'm saying, and to help you trust yourself. The ones you learned were taught to you to stifle your thinking and make you follow orders.**

**"We won't always be doing this, OK? It is just until I know that you are hearing what I have said and not what the training center tried to brainwash you into believing I would want. I know it is hard to see the difference right now. But you are doing so well today. I am so proud of you.**

**"Just finish cooking with Maddy. Then after dinner, we will all sit down and watch a movie until bedtime. The day is almost over, OK?" He tried to smile in the hopes that it would relax the boy but he knew he was falling short.**

**"And by the way, you have earned the reward for today. When we sit down for the movie I'll go over your prize option, OK? Remember, they are only good things. No tricks. OK?"**

**The boy nodded wearily.**

**"Good. I'm going to go get my daughter since her timer is about to go off. Don't let it scare you, OK? In fact, let me turn it off now." He said and walked over to the stove.**

**Jared used the break to get himself under control. "Master, should your slave finish setting the table and getting stuff ready while you get little miss?" he requested bravely.**

**Jensen forced himself to look happy, "that would be great. I'll send her in." Then he left the kitchen in a hurry.**

**Within 20 minutes, the table was set, the salad was made, and the lasagna was cooling on the table. Maddy went to get her brothers and sent Jared to get her father.**

**"Master?" he called quietly as he knocked on the living room door jam. "Little Miss says that dinner is ready if you are," he said as he tried not to bite his lip, rub his hands together, or make himself appear smaller.**

**Jared looked up from his paperwork. "Oh, that's great, I'll be right there." He said and started to pack up his briefcase.**

**Jared entered the room cautiously, "Master, may your slave assist you with cleaning up?"**

**Jensen threw him a smile of thanks but declined and told him he could go back to the kitchen and start eating.**

**Understanding a dismissal when he heard one, Jared walked resolutely back to the kitchen and made sure everything was set.**

**He looked the table over, checking to see that everyone had the silverware they needed, that there were serving utensils available, and that the salad dressings were on the table. Then he concentrated on the drinks. He had been told that the children were to have milk at every meal so he started pouring their glasses. He was unsure about what master preferred with his meals so he left his glass empty. He was also unsure of what he would be allowed to drink so his glass also sat empty.**

**Little miss was the first one to the table. She saw him filling the glasses and said that he should have milk also which seemed strange since at the training center, slaves were only allowed water with meals. He knew the kids were not to order him around so he was unsure if she was right. He was hesitating to pour his own when master walked in eagerly rubbing his hands together.**

**"Mmmmmm. It sure smells great in here. You two have outdone yourselves." He offered high praise and gave his daughter a big hug. "I see you have filled most of the glasses, Jared. That's great. You may have milk or water with your meal. I would like you to have milk because of its nutrients but I know you might not be used to drinking it straight so if you prefer water for the first week that is fine," he said casually as he sat down.**

**"Clarifying question, master?" Jensen nodded his agreement. "If your slave tries a few ounces of the milk but don't like it... may the slave switch to water?" he took a chance and asked.**

**"Of course. Yes, if you don't like it please switch. And you have blanket permission to never finish anything that you don't like."**

**Jared nodded his thanks and poured himself half a glass. He did not want to waste the milk if he did not like it.**

**"Let's make it a full order," Jensen called out making Jared straightened stiffly. Turning slowly, he stopped pouring his milk, and gave the man his full attention. "Relax, Jared. I just mean I'll have some milk too, tonight." He pointed to his glass and tried to reassure Jared.**

**By then the boys had arrived and Johnny helped Joshy into his seat. Jared had tried to rush over to help but was told they were fine. Once everyone was seated, Jensen made a quick speech welcoming Jared to their home. Then the family started busily moving plates around and dishing up the food.**

**Jared tried to keep an eye on everyone so that he could refill their plates. That was part of a household slave's job, right? He was so new to this; there was so much noise and confusion. It was a very tense meal with him jumping every time he heard a new noise or thought that someone was reaching for something.**

**About 10 minutes into the meal, there was a noise in the driveway and a quick knock at the door. Jared tried to jump up to answer it but was stopped with a light touch to his leg and a shake of master's head, "Just watch," master said in a hushed tone, as Jared heard a large bag hit the entry room floor.**

**Jared could not disobey such a clear order so he sat and watched as an older man walked into the kitchen. He was dressed as an upper class freeman. All three kids jumped up, calling out to their grandfather, as they fought to be the first to give him a hug hello. They were all clamoring for his attention and babbling about their new friend.**

**"Really? You don't say? Big day, huh?" he quickly respond and greeted the children before turning to face his son-in-law. "So congratulations are in order, I understand? And you couldn't be bothered to let me know in advance so that I could bring a 'gift'? I'm so relieved to see that you have finally smartened up and gotten yourself a slave! About time, don't ya think? I was starting to wonder about you, son. So let me have a look." He gave the standard gesture for the boy to stand and present.**

**Jared was unsure what to do but since master had not countermanded the order, he stood and turned toward the freeman. He was very nervous but knew he had to make a good impression with 'grandfather'. While cooking, Maddy had talked a great deal about her wonderful Grandfather Zachariah. She said he wouldn't play dress up with her like Auntie would but that he told amazing stories and gave great gifts.**

**Jared had pieced together that he had been stopping by, on a random schedule, every few weeks since their mother had passed away. Jared thought it sounded like he was checking up on master but maybe this was just how families took care of each other. It seemed that Grandfather Zachariah was 'on the road' for work a lot and would swing by their house on his way home. Without calling, he would arrive just before dinner, spend the night, and leave while the children were in school.**

**"Huh? A little big, don't ya think, son?" He said with an edge of disgust to his voice, as he flicked his hand in silent order, "personally, I always prefer runts, so much easier to maintain. Well, boy, turn around and present!" He said impatiently when Jared didn't respond to the hand gesture he had given.**

**Jared started to drop to his knees when he was stopped by master clearing his throat, "Remember your rules, Jared." It was said evenly without master looking away from his plate. He had not even greeted the man yet!**

**"Yes, master, my rules. Hello sir, it is nice to meet the children's grandfather. They have talked highly of you. Would you care to join them for dinner?" He asked as formally as he could, while backing toward the cabinets to gather the required items for the new place setting.**

**"Huh," Grandfather Zachariah huffed as he went to sit in his typical seat. "Yes, dinner with my family sounds wonderful, slave."**

**When Jared reached in front of him to place the items on the table, he firmly squeezed and explored the tiny butt causing the boy to jump and almost drop the glass he was placing on the table. "Tsk, tsk, boy, careful," the man admonished before he turned his attention to his son-in-law, "Jensen, he doesn't seemed very well trained. How low is his designation level?" he questioned sadly.**

**"Zach, please, hands off. Jared is still settling in." Jensen tried to sway the topic away. "How was your trip down?"**

**"Typical traffic," Zachariah waved the issue away and was right back to discussing the bigger issue. "Jensen, I wish you had talked with me before buying this. I don't know if this is a good choice for you, son. Older and bigger slaves like this need a firm hand." He said as he grabbed the back of Jared's neck and tried to force him to his knees.**

**"Zachariah, please take your hands off my boy."**

**"Jensen, no matter his designation, he should be able to handle a little touch and be familiar with nonverbal hand signs. I've given him 3 so far that he has ignored! Are you sure you got him from a repeatable center? If you want, I can recommend some courses that will have him trained up in a matter of weeks." Then old man added with a knowing wink, "Unless that is the fun you are trying to have?"**

**"Zach, please let him go. You do not have to worry; we are fine. Jared has been following all of my orders and is behaving perfectly. He is just what I was looking for and needs no further training. Now, let's eat this wonderful lasagna before it gets cold." Then patting the chair next to him he added, "Come sit down, and enjoy yours too, Jared."**

**"What!?! You let him sit at the table with you? In front of the children? Son?" The old man was shocked by the example that his son-in-law was setting. He had to do something to protect his grandchildren from seeing this and thinking it was normal.**

**Jared could hear the disapproval in his voice even without looking the freeman in the face. He tried to shrink into himself as he walked toward master. He did not like the idea that he was bringing disrespect to such a wonderful master.**

**"Dad," Jensen bristled, he hated calling the man that but if it got him off this conversation he would say the name. "This is my house and my rules. If you can't handle it then you know where the door is. Besides, none of this should be a surprise; your daughter shared my views on slavery. Now please, let's eat and remember: at your house, I follow your rules and here you respect my rules." Jensen really hoped the man backed down at least for tonight.**

**Jensen knew it would always be an issue between them. Zachariah had never understood his 'modern' ideas that slaves were just people trained to think and act a certain way and that if they had been brought up differently they could be freemen too. There was nothing biologically different between the classes. It was a man made system so man should be able to change that system. But Zachariah was old school and wealthy and liked to believe that he was better than 'those' people. To him slaves were servants who should be thanking him for training them so well and giving them the scraps that he did.**

**Jensen tried to keep the children away from grandfather's house as much as he could. The two men had worked out a plan for which rooms the children would be allowed to use/see and which type of slaves would be visible during their limited holiday stays. When Mary became sick, Jensen found out that he had no grounds to deny the children's biological grandfather from seeing them. Zachariah had all of the power. He was the patriarch of the 'family' that Jensen had joined when he married his wife, Mary and there was no getting around that unless something big happened.**

**The two teens had met in college and fallen in love. They had many things in common including protesting slavery. As college drew to a close, they realized that they had to put childish dreams aside and focus on what they could change and for them it was a very small section of the world. So they settled down and Jensen used Zachariah's contacts to get a good job and to pay off his school loans. Then when Mary got sick, the 'family' pitched in to help with the expenses and the childcare. But now Jensen wanted to pull back, to stand on his own two feet and to continue the fight that he and Mary had started so many years ago.**

**The old man gruntingly agreed and turned the conversation turned to the wonderful cooking. Maddy tried to share the praise with Jared but her grandfather would not hear of it. Jared did share a quick smile with her when she squeezed his hand under the table and winked at him but other than that he tried to sit quietly and wait for dinner to be finished. He just wanted to clean the kitchen and get on with master's plans for the evening.**

**When Jensen noticed that Jared was not eating, he leaned over to check on the boy.**

**"Your slave is fi..." he began but was quickly stopped.**

**"Think about that Jared. Is that scripted speech designed to please me or the truth?" He ordered quietly while the kids talked to their grandfather about school.**

**The boy looked down ashamed. He pressed his lips together nervously and wished he could have run a hand through his hair. "Your slave is not hungry, master," he whispered afraid as he glanced up through his bangs, "Your slave is sorry for wasting..."**

**"Jensen, what is that boy whimpering about?" Grandfather interrupted and Jared jumped with a squeak. "And why is his hair so long? I can barely see his expressions. How are you going to know when he is being deceitful if you can't see his lying face?"**

**Jared knew he had no say in the matter but he loved his hair. He silently prayed, 'please do not let master want it cut'. He felt a hand gently squeezing his left leg. He took a shallow breath; maybe master was not mad at him?**

**"Dad, my boy and I were talking privately that is why his voice was so low. And his hair is no concern of yours. I told you before; Jared is perfect, just like this. He is just what I was looking for."**

**"Jensen," Grandfather said gruffly as he gestured about the fancy table setup and the decorations the kids had made, "that boy is supposed to make your life easier not harder. You are not meant to kowtow or dote on it. What kind of example are you setting for the children?"**

**"Zach, this is my house and 'my' children know what kind of messages I want them to receive. Now, please, let's just enjoy dinner. Shall we?"**

**Johnny decided to rescue his Father, "Dinner was really good, Maddy. I know I'm done, is anyone else done too? Grandfather, wait until you see the wonderful dessert that Maddy made." He looked around hopefully at his siblings.**

**"Yeah, yeah, I'm done! Cake time! Right, Daddy? We can eat the cake now that I'm done, right?" Joshy said so excitedly that he wheedled a smile from his dad.**

**While rubbing his son's head, Jensen replied happily, that 'yes, if he was done it was time for cake.'**

**Maddy & Johnny got up to clear the table. When Jared tried to stand, Maddy put her hands on his shoulders, "Nope, you are the guest of honor tonight so you sit and relax."**

**He tried to argue but the reassuring hand was back on his left leg. Well, if master did not want him getting up then he should follow the silent order and stay sitting. See he had been trained well he could follow nonverbal cues. So he sat stoically in his seat, trying to keep his eyes down and off the children's grandfather.**

**Jared was alarmed when a tall cake was placed not just on the table or in front of master but in front of him. Then he noticed Maddy trying to hand him a large knife.**

**"Go ahead, Jared. It's your cake, you get to cut it," she encouraged.**

**He sent a panicked look to master. Was he really supposed to use the knife? Even in his cooking class, he had used only small knives, nothing like this. And that had been under heavy guard. Did house slaves really get to use knives? Near freemen? At the table? When setting the table, he had been careful not to place even a butter knife at his place.**

**"Go ahead, Jared. You have blanket permission to use all items in this kitchen," Master clarified.**

**After licking his lips nervously, he picked up the knife and cut the first piece. It was not as easy as he had hoped to get it onto a plate but everyone laughed with him not at him. And when he snuck a look, master did not seem upset.**

**He tried to give the first piece to master out of respect but it was put in front of him with a nod. "It's your special day, Jared, you get the first bite." Jared nodded quickly, acknowledging the order then kept cutting.**

**"Yeah," Joshy clapped, "it is chocolate. This is the best day ever."**

**Once all of the cake was cut, Johnny commented that the only way it would be better was if they had ice cream. Maddy started to jump up. "Oh, I forgot it in the freezer."**

**"This slave will get it little miss." Jared said before she could get up and he raced to get it. He had tried to memorize the kitchen cabinets while they were cooking and he was relieved when he opened the correct drawer and located the special scoop. He started serving at her place. "Thank you for the lovely meal and all of the effort to make me feel special, Little Miss," he said quietly as he added a scoop to her plate.**

**"Sir, would you like some ice cream, tonight?" he asked as formally as he could to grandfather.**

**"Yes, I would, slave." He said as he scooted his chair back and started to pull the boy into his lap.**

**Jared tried to back away from the unwanted touching but only managed to get their legs tangled and to fall onto the man's lap.**

**"Dad, let him go!” Jensen said firmly and rose from his chair.**

**"Now, son, relax. I'm just showing you how a good slave sits while at the table. You want to set the right example for the children, don’t you?"**

**"Zach, let him up. Now!" He said leaning his hands on the table so that he didn't cross the room, rip Jared up, and punch his father-in-law in the nose. It was true that many slaves sat like that but not in his house and never his boy.**

**Grandfather had gotten the reaction he was looking for and released the young slave. "Fine. There you go, no harm done. Just proving a point... a well trained slave is used to so much more than that and would never react negatively toward company."**

**As soon as the man released him, Jared was on his knees and scrambling over to master babbling. "Your slave is sorry, Master! Please, retrain me! Please, your slave begs to relearn so it may serve. Your slave is so..."**

**Before he could drop fully into kneeling position 3, Jensen held up his hand. "Jared, you are in no trouble. Remember your 'safety' rules. Now, go to your room, we will talk later."**

**A calm look passed over Jared's face. Then he gulped, straightening his back to his full height. "Yes, Master, remembering safety rules. Sir, master has ordered that his slave not be touched by anyone other than him. Please excuse this slave as it follows his orders and removes itself."**

**At the doorway, he turned and addressed the children. "Young Master, Little Miss, and Little Sir, thank you for a lovely meal and a wonderful welcome. Goodnight." He said then turned and walked out the door. As soon as he was in the main hallway, he ran to his room, locked his door, and put the chair under the handle. He was scared to do it but knew it was what master was telling him to do when he reminded him of his rules. He then took the soft blanket and turtle that Little Sir had given him and he curled up on the other side of his bed to hide.**

**~~~~~~**

**"Dad, how could you?" Jensen started in angry while grandfather demanded, "Son, what are you thinking letting him act that way?"**

**"Kids, go to Johnny's room and don't come out until I come and get you." He ordered without taking his eyes off his father-in-law. After a chorus of 'yes sirs' the two older ones where able to get Joshy out of his chair and then the room.**

**Once they were out of earshot Jensen turned on the older man. "That will never happen again. Jared is mine and I will handle him how I see fit to handle him. He was bought as a household slave and he will never be used sexually by you or anyone else. If you cannot accept that one rule then you are not welcome in this house."**

**The two men stared at each other. They had never been close and had often argued over how society deals with slaves. But this was Jensen's house so he made the rules. He would protect his own even if it meant denying the children their beloved grandfather. He would find a legal way to prove that it was in their best interest not to be near the man. Maybe he could claim that Zachariah had tried to destroy Jensen's property? He would check with Christian in the morning.**

**After a few heartbeats, Grandfather realized that he was not going to be able to sway his son-in-law. What had his lovely daughter, Mary, seen in this ungrateful kid? But he knew better then to force the issue tonight. He was determined not to let his grandkids be raised with these ideas so he had to make plans to nullify their father. "Alright, your house - your rules," he agreed but added a 'for now' in his head. He would find a way to get the kids permanently away from him yet.**

**Jensen sat down and had a serious talk with the man about what would and would not be tolerated going forward. He knew his father-in-law was only agreeing so that he could stay and keep an eye on the kids but for now, he agreed to let the man stay the night.**

**Jensen excused himself to go check on his children and Jared. Grandfather grunted at him ‘checking on his slave', while he sat down to finish his interrupted dessert. His Maddy was a fine cook.**

**Jensen went first to check on his children. After knocking on Johnny's door and announcing himself, he was allowed in. He quickly explained that Grandfather and he had talked and things were settled. Since Grandfather understood the rules of the house, he would be spending the night.**

**Joshy was very excited having 2 houseguests and offered his bedroom for the sleep over. After some light teasing and jokes, it was decided that grandfather would get a better night sleep in the living room.**

**After leaving the kids with directions to play quietly in Johnny's room until it was time to brush teeth Jensen made his way across the hall to Jared's room.**

**He knocked gently on the door so that he didn't scare the boy too much. He wasn't sure how scared the boy was or where in the room he was hiding. "Hey, it's just me, Jared. You do not have to open the door; I just wanted you to know everything is fine. I am not mad at you. I am proud that you followed my orders so well. The kids are fine; they are playing in Johnny's room.**

**"Just so you know, their Grandfather is staying the night. You have permission to stay in your room until I call you for breakfast. I do not expect you to get up and get breakfast ready. Please try to relax and rest."**

**He waited a moment to give the boy time to respond, when none came he continued quietly, "Baby boy. This was not how I wanted tonight to go but you did great. Can you knock if you have heard me?" He waited a few tense seconds until he heard the quiet knock on the door.**

**"That's great, Jared, great work. Now, I'm going to the kitchen to get everything put away. I do not need help. I want you to stay in your room unless you want to join the children. Knock once if you understand."**

**He was relieved when he heard a quick but strong knock. "Great. Knock once if you have a question?" He waited for the knock but didn't receive any. "OK, good night, my boy. Remember, I am here if you need anything," then he turned to leave.**

**When he returned to the kitchen, Grandfather was just finishing up so Jensen started to clean up around him. The man scoffed when he saw what his son-in-law was doing. As he noisily put his dishes in the sink, he made a comment about masters doing slave work then retreated to the living room to watch TV.**

**Jensen shrugged it off. He knew he was not going to be able to change the man's mind overnight. But he had done the dishes last night and he didn't see much difference between then and now.**

**Once the kitchen was cleaned, Jensen went into the living room and silently joined in watching the middle of some sporting show. At 7:45, he excused himself to go get the kids ready for bed to a mumbled comment about ‘wasn't that what his slave was for’.**

**The kids were subdued and the bedtime routine went easier than normal. He let them go down to say goodnight to Grandfather before hustling them into their separate rooms. Maddy decided that she wanted a story that night and joined Joshy in his room.**

**Joshy had choice of story that night and kindly chose 3 short, already memorized, books. Jensen was not surprised that when he tucked each of them in, they asked about Jared. He reassured the kids that he was fine, that he knew Jensen wasn't mad at him, and that they would see him in the morning.**

**He had to promise each of them something before he could turn off their light. For Joshy, it was that he would offer Jared a hug and make sure he had his blanket. For Maddy, it was that Jared would 'share one more smile' tonight and for Jensen to make sure Jared knew that he was still getting his prize. And for Johnny, it was reassuring Jared that the kids did not think like grandfather and that they were very happy he was there as part of their family.**

**Jensen checked on Jared before he went to bed and delivered the children's messages as well as he could through a closed door. He reassured Jared that he was not mad and that he could stay behind his locked door all night. Then he went to seek the sanctuary of his room rather than join the other freeman in watching TV.**

**The whole house was awakened around 2:30 am by banging and yelling. Jensen was the first one out of his room to see what was going on. When he saw his father-in-law at Jared's door, he yelled at the children to stay in their rooms.**

**The man, who had promised to behave and leave Jared alone, was banging on the door, trying to force his way inside. It looked like he had already tried to pick the lock. He was yelling derogatory terms at the boy and ordering him to open the door for 'his betters'.**

**When he called it an order, Jensen heard his boy politely respond, "This slave is sorry, sir, but its master has already given it an order to stay in here until he comes."**

**"Well he sent me, so open up." Grandfather yelled viciously, not liking the disrespectful attitude the boy was giving him. He would fix this boy.**

**"This slave is sorry, sir, but its master has ordered its door to stay shut," came the quiet reply. When the man rattled and banged on the door again, he bravely continued. "Please stop asking sir, this slave has already answered and the children are sleeping."**

**Jensen had heard enough, he barreled into the hallway and grabbed the older man by the shoulders and forced him back into the wall. "I told you to leave him alone. He has told you his orders. Now, it is time you leave." He said as he dragged the man toward the front door.**

**"You are no longer welcome in this house. You will have no more contact with the children. Goodbye." And with that, he forced the man out the door. He turned to go check on his boy when he saw Johnny. "What are you doing out of your room?" he asked shocked that his oldest hadn’t followed his orders.**

**"I wanted to gather up these," the boy said offering his grandfather's unzipped overnight bag and coat, "so he has no excuse to come back."**

**With a quick nod and wink, Jensen grabbed the items and threw them out onto the lawn. Let the man scrabble to recollect the items. Then with a proud smile, he put an arm around his son and led him back inside. "Can you take care of them while I take care of Jared?" He asked while nodding toward his 2 youngest.**

**Johnny nodded and copied his father's forced smile, "Of course, Father. Tell him we're glad he is here and that he is safe."**

**"I'll take care of him," he assured as the boy walked purposefully toward his siblings. Jensen listened outside the door to hear his oldest offering hugs and his own assurances before turning to Jared's door.**

**"You're safe, Jared. It's over. He's gone. Jared, I am so proud of you for following my orders," he said clearly after knocking on the boy's door.**

**"Yes, master, made you proud," came the tentative whisper.**

**"Yes, you did, very proud. You did so well." He leaned on the door, wanting to be able to hold the boy but knowing Jared wasn't ready; all he could do was offer words and actions, then hope they carried the correct message.**

**"I have taken out the trash and only our family is here now." He could barely hear the boy, he was breathing so shallowly. "You may keep the door locked for the rest of the night but know that you are safe, OK? It is only the children and me here. That man," he said with disgust, "will not be coming back. Ever. You are safe here. I will file paper work with Christian tomorrow that will keep him far away from all of us."**

**He paused to give Jared a chance to comment but when everything remained quiet, he continued, "Just remember, Jared, you did nothing wrong. You followed all of my orders. I'm so happy with your service." There was so much he wanted to tell Jared but he just could through the door.**

**"Oh, the children wanted me to tell you again how happy they are that you are here. They are all fine. Nothing happened to them, OK?" He paused listening, hoping that his boy would let him know that he was OK.**

**"OK, well, if you need me or have a question, please come and find me. You have permission to come to my room tonight if you need me, OK?" He paused again hoping his boy would talk to him. "Otherwise, I will see you in a few hours. Good night, Jared. I hope you can get some rest." He said as neutrality as he could before he turned and went to check on his children.**

**It took almost an hour and 3 more stories but finally the whole house was quiet again. Jensen went to the kitchen to pour himself a drink before checking on his family 'just one more time' then turning in for the night, again!**

**His alarm went off 'too early', a few hours later. He knew better than to hit the snooze button so he dragged himself into his attached bathroom for a quick shower, hopping it would wake him up. The plan for a typical Monday morning was coffee, breakfast; get the kids up & off all while getting himself ready for work. The new plan had been to show Jared the ropes and let him get the kids ready while he got himself ready. Then they would all meet for a quick breakfast.**

**But after last night, that was not going to work. He figured he would knock on the boy's door and let him know he could come out whenever he wanted but Jensen knew better than to expect him to feel safe coming out yet.**


	5. The morning after

**Jensen's room was the farthest from the kitchen and with his door shut it was no wonder he didn't smell anything until he reached the hallway. Once he opened his door, he was greeted with the delicious smells of pancakes, bacon, and coffee.**

**It so shocked him that he had to grasp the door for support. As he made his way down the hall, he could hear Joshy chatting away. This surprised him even more then the smells because Joshy was not his morning child. He was the hardest to get up in the morning.**

**Jensen crept into the kitchen, hoping not to be noticed. He had to see this with his own eyes to believe it. His youngest sleepyhead was fully dressed and sitting at the table eating! "Jared, you are a miracle worker." He said in awe before realizing the possible impact on Jared.**

**"Master," Jared jumped, turning from the stove. He looked around in fright, unsure of how to answer and how to act.**

**"You're fine!" Jensen ordered quickly, holding up his hands to show the boy he meant no harm. "Just stand and talk with me. Make eye contact if you can. You are fine! I love that you are up and making breakfast." He smiled down at his son. "And that you have company."**

**He gave the boy a chance to compose himself.**

**"Yes, master, working hard to serve you," he pushed himself to say. He thought it captured all of what Master had said and it was the reason that he had let Little Sir convince him that it would be OK to do this.**

**Master walked up to Joshy and tousled his hair. "Is this your doing?" he asked kindly pointing to the plate on the table.**

**Jared sucked in a silent but quick breath and wanted to defend Little Sir but he held his tongue. Master had not addressed him. He had to follow the rules and not cause trouble. Especially after last night.**

**Joshy smiled up at his dad. "Mornin, these are good. Try." He said as he offered the fork to his dad.**

**Jared made a move to offer Master the special plate he had prepared for him but Jensen waved it away and ate from his son's plate. Jared cringed. He had made the boy's pancakes special with extra chocolate chips and crispy edges. Not flavors that adults typically liked. What if Master thought...?**

**He fought the urge to run and hide as he stood there waiting for his Master to be disappointed in his cooking.**

**"Ummmm, Jared these are great. How did you get so many chips in there? Mine always bubble over, burn or are undercooked."**

**Then before Jared could continue, the boy interrupted again. "And look, Daddy, he made animals. I gotta pick for everyone. I helped a lot today!" He said proudly.**

**His dad gave him a big hug then walked over to Jared. "I'm going to touch but I won’t hurt you." He said carefully as he took measured steps toward the trembling boy. "You did great today." He touched the boy's shoulders. "Jared, I am so proud of you."**

**The boy blinked rapidly when Master didn't continue.**

**"Y-y-yes M-Ma-Master, made you pro..." Then to his astonishment, Master was hugging him.**

**"Very proud. You are everything I hoped for. Now, I'm going to go get the other 2 rug rats up, while you dish up the rest of the food." Then he turned and left.**

**"Yes, Master," he said shocked. Master had not even waited for him to acknowledge the order. Master just 'trusted' him to follow through? He had to think on that later but right now, he had breakfast to finish.**

**According to his schedule, he had 5 more minutes to get breakfast ready before checking on the children but if Master was doing that... Then he could...? Start cleaning up. He put the rest of the food on the table as he encouraged Little Sir to tell him another story.**

**He was in the middle of doing the dishes when Young Master sauntered into the kitchen. "Mornin' Jared," he mumbled while sitting down and grabbing his glass of orange juice.**

**"Morning, Young Master. Here is your first serving of pancakes," he said as he carefully set the plate down in front of the boy.**

**"Wow," the boy's eyes grew large, "those are cool. Has Father seen what you can do?" He asked amazed at the recognizable animal on his plate.**

**"Yes, Young Master. He was in earlier and sampled some of your brother's." He answered truthfully trying to keep the pride out of his voice. It was a good sign but scary to hear good things about his cooking.**

**He had taken a chance on getting up when Little Sir had come to his door. And it looked like he had made the correct choice. So far today, he was up one point on his things done to impress Master list. He just had to keep this up all day. And then maybe Master would forget about dinner and last night.**

**He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard an annoyed, "Squirt, pass the syrup, will ya?"**

**"Oh sorry, Young Master!" he jumped, reaching for the syrup as Joshy stuck his tongue out at his brother, holding the little cup out of his reach and replied, "You can't call me that. Daddy says not ta. Now ask nice, or I'm gonna use it all up."**

**"Father!" he yelled instead, "Joshua is not sharing." And followed it up by raising an eyebrow and whispering, "Two can play that game, kiddo."**

**"Boys, it isn't even 6:30, yet," came the terse reply from the hallway. "What is all the commotion about?" He asked as he entered the kitchen.**

**"I'm sorry, Master." Jared said and tried to get in front of the children. Next time he would do better, he would know to give each boy his own syrup. "Here, Young Master. Try this. It is nice and warm." He forced a smile onto his face as he offered the boy a new cup.**

**"Uh, thanks, Jared." He could tell how tense the boy was. "We're fine. Really. Right, Joshy?" He asked innocently as he winked, and nodded toward Jared hopping his much younger and more oblivious brother understood that Jared was scared. They would have to be very careful about teasing each other in front of Jared. He was too new to the whole sibling thing and too sensitive.**

**"Yeah." He answered tentatively. He knew his brother had been teasing but not in a mean way. And daddy would know that too so why the big cover up?**

**"Well, good. Then everything is set." Master said confidently and clapped his hands together. "So let's eat." Then he promptly sat down and fixed his napkin on his lap.**

**"Yes, Master. Right away," Jared said nervously as he turned to get the man's plate ready. "Here, Master, your slave hopes you like it."**

**"I'm sure I will, Jared. The children seem very happy with theirs," then with a wink he added, "Plus, I already had a sample, remember?"**

**Jared bit his lip nervously. "Yes, Master, but um... yours are blueberry not chocolate chip." He said in a rush then felt himself rambling on, trying to offer an apology and an explanation. "Your slave thought you would like them better. Your slave is sorry if it overstepped my orders, Master. There are more chocolate chip pancakes ready, if you would prefer them, Master. It will just take your slave a second to get you a new plate, if you'd like, Master?" He offered as he wrung his hands together behind his back waiting for new orders.**

**Jensen, calmly, held up his hand. "Blueberry pancakes sound great. I do love them. And did I hear you say warm maple syrup?"**

**"Yes, Master." He nodded toward the little cup on Master's plate. Then after licking, his lips added. "Your slave also made mixed berry compote for you, Master. Your slave hopes it is not too sweet."**

**Jensen stared at his plate, the presentation was restaurant level. He smiled easily as he turned to his boy. "I'm going to pay you a complement, Jared. You can acknowledge it with a thank you or any positive words you want. Ready?" He paused as he watched the boy get control of himself going as far as shoving his hands into his pockets.**

**To Johnny it looked as though Jared expected to be punched or something not be given a verbal 'atta boy'. He watched his father carefully to see how he handled the nervous boy.**

**"This all looks lovely, Jared. And from my kids’ happy faces, I know it tastes as good as it looks. You out did yourself today. We typically eat like this on the weekends only but this was a great treat for today. Thank you, Jared."**

**Jared did not respond right away because he was sure Master was going to continue by adding what he needed to do better next time. When he realized it was his turn to talk, he had no words. He just stood there nervously looking to his Master for help. But Master was clearly waiting for him. He had already told Jared how to respond. What if he could not do it?**

**He looked down and licked his lips. He wanted to brush his fingers through his hair but that was so unslave-like... Wait! Wasn't that what Master was hinting at yesterday?**

**He glanced up carefully from under his bangs. Then he took a chance and moved his hand. He went slowly, in case this was not what Master wanted. Maybe he could turn the move into something more slave-like or explain, if Master was upset. After he pushed his bangs aside, he faced Master. "Thank you, Sir. I hope you like them. There is more of everything… if you do."**

**Jensen smiled wide and winked at him, before he started eating.**

**Jared tentatively returned the smile then checked to see that everyone still had enough food before approaching his own chair and breakfast. That was when he realized someone was missing.**

**"Umm, Master? Clarifying question?"**

**Jensen was in the middle of a bite so gestured the boy on.**

**"Um, Master, Little Miss is not at the table yet. Should I go check on her?"**

**Jensen held up his hand when the boy started to rise. "It's fine. Let me show you how I usually have to get her to breakfast, OK?" He paused to look the boy over then nodded toward his two sons.**

**Jared turned to see them both covering their ears. He looked back toward Master alarmed.**

**With a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, he continued, "its fine. Go on; cover your ears, too." He waited while the boy slowly did as asked. Before he hollered, "Madelyn, you better be up and almost ready. If I have to come and ge..."**

**"I'm up!' Came the grumpily reply as the girl entered the kitchen completely dressed.**

**"Good because Jared made pancakes."**

**"Oh, Jared, that was so sweet. Thank you." She said as she passed behind him. "Can I touch you?" She asked before sitting down on his right.**

**He nodded, but braced unsure of what she was going to do.**

**She leaned down and gave him a quick hug. "They smell heavenly, thank you." She was glad to have an excuse to hug him. The children had agreed not to mention last night until their dad had a chance to talk to him and she was dying to see if he was OK.**

**"Um, you’re welcome, Little Miss. Little Sir suggested that you would enjoy the blueberry ones like your father but there are extra chocolate chip if you prefer."**

**She winked at her brother. She loved blueberries. "These are perfect. And did I hear you made mixed berry compote?" She encouraged.**

**Her dad laughed, "I knew you could hear us in your room."**

**"Yes, Little Miss. It should still be warm but let this slave know if it needs anything. This slave hopes it is sweet enough for you," he added nervously, "It can be doctored, if need be." Then he waited tensely for her to try everything.**

**"This is so delicious! Oh, you have to show me your recipe. Dad, this is better than Francine’s is. Oh, I cannot wait to show this off. We have to look into entering him into contests."**

**Jared was excited that she liked his cooking until he saw Jensen stop eating. He too stopped eating and put his hands in his lap. Wondering what he had done to make Master so upset.**

**"Madelyn, I'm glad that you are enjoying breakfast but Jared is here to cook for us. He is not here as a trophy to show off to your friends. We will talk more later. It is getting late everyone, so finish up, OK?" Then he pushed himself away from the table, brought his empty plate to the sink, and walked out of the kitchen calling out. "The bus will be here in 10 minutes."**

**"You guys heard him, finish up.” Johnny encouraged. "Jared, this was really lovely, thank you," he said as he too put his dishes away.**

**The rules for responding to his name at the beginning of a sentence were less ridged when dealing with children so he could get away with simply offering Young Master a ‘you are welcome, I am glad you enjoyed it.'**

**He was still confused about what he had done wrong. He watched as Joshy got up and followed his brother's lead. Then he felt a tentative touch on his arm and looked over to a very sad Little Miss.**

**But before he could respond to ask what was wrong, she was talking. "I'm sorry. That was my fault. You didn't do anything wrong. Dad's right, you are not a trophy to be paraded around... I didn't mean it like that but I can see how it must have sounded to you. I'm sorry. I just thought that this might be something that you liked doing and it would be a way for 'you' to show off your skills. It is something you should be proud of." She looked down, ashamed of how it must have sounded.**

**"I didn't mean to enter you into one of 'those' completions." She looked up at him earnestly. "I hope you can believe me. I would not do that to you. I was thinking about our town baking contest... The one with the blue ribbons and prize money... Oh! Now I get it." She said and ran from the room crying.**

**Jared got up to go after here but was stopped by Jensen, "Its fine, you stay here and clean up the kitchen. Then go help the boys in the living room. I will talk with her."**

**"Yes, Master." He said and stepped back. He was glad to have clear orders. He was very worried about Little Miss but he did not really understand what had upset her so much.**

**It did not take Jensen very long to calm his daughter down. He assured her that he understood she hadn't meant to be mean. Then he hugged her and told her he agreed it wasn't fair that such a good cook couldn't enter the contest with freemen but that he was working hard to change that. Then he encouraged her to finish getting ready for school.**

**As the bus pulled up, the kids grabbed their things from the doorway, and ran out. Jensen told Jared to follow him and to 'act the part'. Then he walked them both out to the bus. He paused at the door, held his hand up to signal Jared to a high kneel, and asked if the driver had a moment to spare.**

**The driver looked at his watch, the kids, and then the slave at Jensen's side. "Sure, you got new instructions for me, sir?"**

**Jensen smiled, so the man remembered him well. "Yes, I do. I will provide them to the service, in writing, later today but I wanted you two to formally meet at least once. Just so there are no issues." He said as professionally as he could.**

**The man was chewing on an old toothpick and leaned forward to get a better look at the attractive slave kneeing on the ground.**

**"Mr. Brown, this is Jared. He will be helping me with the children. He has permission to get them on and off the bus by himself. He has permission to move around the yard freely, to help them with their belongings, and to speak / touch them openly."**

**"Don't look much like a domestic to me, sir," he said snidely.**

**"Jared, this is the children's bus driver." He continued, ignoring the comment, "You will refer to him as 'sir'. You may talk to him directly to pass on / receive information about the children's day. You will not step onto the bus, at anytime, unless given specific instructions to do so. Do you understand?"**

**"Yes, Master. Your slave may talk to, sir, about the children's day from outside the bus."**

**"Yes." He agreed then turned back to Mr. Brown. "Are we all set?"**

**"Yeah, fine, just send the detailed report to the office." Then under his breath he chuckled, "I hope it works out for ya."**

**Jensen waved goodbye to his children and softly told Jared that he was proud of him. Once the bus was gone, he gave the hand gesture for Jared to rise silently and follow him back to the house.**

**Once the door was closed, Jensen leaned his back against it, as if he were trying to keep the whole world out of his house. He looked over at Jared and laughed. "I know, I'm a big baby. This is as bad as Johnny's first day of school." He caught the split second of confusion that passed Jared's face, put an arm around his shoulders, and led him to the living room. "Come in and relax. Don't worry; I won't bore you with the details. Just know that I am a big sap for someone who doesn't like Chick-flick moments."**

**Once they reached the couch, he was very excited to see that Jared did sit right down. The boy even seemed more relaxed then yesterday.**

**"Master?" he prompted after a few minutes of being stared at.**

**"Oh, sorry. Just trying to figure out where to start. Do you have any questions? Any concerns?" So much had happened in the past 20 hours the boy must have some, right?**

**Jared shook his head nervously. Of course, he was confused and he hoped that Master was really pleased with how he had handled himself this morning. But question?**

**Jensen turned to look at him. "Really?" He teased then started listing off all of the questions he thought he would have if he were Jared. He was shocked by the number.**

**Then he noticed Jared's head drop and heard him mumble, "If you liked the pancakes, does this slave still have to go to... training?"**

**Jensen fought the urge to take in a quick breath. The boy was radiating nervous energy. It was easy to see that just posing the question had been hard for him. "Baby boy, the pancakes were great. I liked them a lot. Can you look at me?"**

**The boy's chin was quivering but he tipped his head up just enough to maintain eye contact through his hair.**

**"Is this about my comment yesterday that I know you only had the basic courses and if the computer and books aren't enough..."**

**He felt the boy slid off the couch to kneel in front of him. "Please, give your slave a chance, Master. This slave will try so hard. Just tell it what you like and your slave will learn to make it, OK?" he pleaded and offered what he hoped was a charming smile.**

**Jensen smiled too, and gently touched his cheek. "You know I love that smile but you don't have to butter me up, OK?"**

**Jared lost his smile and bowed his head. "Sorry, Master," he said sadly, ashamed at himself for trying to manipulate his Master. "This slave will not try to trick you again. This slave awaits your orders and retraining."**

**"Hey," he reached under the boy's chin to carefully lift his head. "Nothing has change. You aren’t in trouble." He took a moment to search the boy's eyes. "I do love your smile but I know you are scared right now so it is OK to show me that. I'm not going to hurt you intentionally, Jared. Especially for showing me, what you really feel. OK?"**

**It took a few minutes of waiting and trying to match his own expression to Jared's but finally the boy relaxed. Jensen knew the boy would be more comfortable if he didn't have to maintain eye contact so he gave permission for him to lay his head on Jensen's knee. Once the boy was settled, Jensen brushed his hand through the boy's hair. It really was so soft and a good length, he would definitely let him keep it even though his and his boy's hair was kept short. "So you don't want to go for more training?" He asked as calmly as he could but he still felt the full body shiver that went through the boy.**

**"This slave will willingly do anything its master wants it to do," he said without emotion.**

**Jensen let him have this learned statement as he stared at the ceiling trying to come up with a plan. "Jared, you make me very proud when you ask question and let me know how you really feel."**

**"Yes, master, make you proud... by talking." He looked up as taught and repeated the words back but with less conviction then yesterday.**

**"So with that in mind, I want you to tell me what the statement, 'I'll send you for more training' means to you."**

**Jared licked his lips and clenched his jaw before beginning. "Yes, Master." He started then had to stop to take a breath. He even lowered his eyes when he started. "If your slave is not good enough," he peeked up, "then you will send it back to the training center you bought it from."**

**Jared could not stop the shivers that racked his body at the thought of going back. He kept his hands on his knees trying to hide the proof that he was not trained. It was disgraceful how he could not control his body. His body belonged to Master; he should not be moving it without permission. Maybe he did need more training?**

**Jared was so focused on himself he never noticed the pain his Master was in. They sat there frozen in their own misery for several minutes until Jensen could speak again. "I promise you, Jared, you are NEVER going back there." He reached down to help the boy make eye contact. "Never. You got that. I got you out and you are staying out."**

**"But Master..."**

**"NO! There will never be a reason for you to go there. If you make a mistake, we'll work it out together. If this job is too big, then we will get more help. I will not replace you. And don't worry; I won't get bored of you. When you get too old to work, then we’ll retire together. Same thing if you get hurt. If I die, you become Jonathan's. If you don't like it here, together we will find you a better home.**

**"See? You were planned for. You are wanted. You ARE staying!" He raised an eyebrow and stared at the boy. "Any questions?"**

**Jared was speechless, Master sounded so sure. But he had been taught... He shook his head this did not make sense. But so little about this household made sense. His Master did not act anything like the trainers said a master would act. He looked up and bit at his lip.**

**Maybe Master would see his confusion and help him. Could he ask for help? He nodded his head quietly.**

**Master was still touching him gently when he nodded back encouragingly.**

**"So where... How...” He looked around blindly, he could not think of how to form the question. So he just went with, "Training?"**

**Master smiled brightly. "Great job, Jared. I am so proud of you. Now the statement, 'I'll send you for more training' means to me that we find a teacher for you. There are no 'official' schools in this area set up to take slaves but there are businessmen who will offer their services for the right price."**

**He winked at the boy, "And believe me, I can afford their prices. It is easier now that you have been reclassified. I just contact them, say my boy needs some more skills and we work out a deal. No problems.**

**"Depending on the topic and tools needed you would either go to their business or they could come here. You are mine now, and it is just tutoring so the training centers do not even need to know." He thought that would relieve the boy but he looked even more nervous. "What is it, Jared?"**

**Jared took a chance on quickly pushing the hair out of his eyes and tucking it behind his ear. He hoped he did not do this nervous tick too often, or it might make Master want to cut it. "What are your slave’s expectations, Master?" he said nervously. He knew what the trainers expected as far as access to his body and punishments but strangers?**

**Master took his time answering and that scared Jared even more. Should he not have asked? Was it so horrible Master did not want to tell him?**

**"Jared, breathe!"**

**The words hit him like a punch. Oh man, he messed up again. He was such a bad slave, he deserved...**

**"Jared, look at me! Eyes on me! Now, in... out... in... out. Keep going. Good. Now, I want you back up on the couch." He helped the boy up. "There. Good. Yes, just like that. OK, you're doing fine. Great in fact. Just keep breathing. No, don't talk yet, just breathe."**

**It was almost 5 minutes before Master started again. "So these tutors that I might hire are very reputable. That means that they will treat my property like I do. If they hurt you in any way that I don't like then I can sue them and blackball them to my peers."**

**He looked Jared over. "Do you know what that means?"**

**Jared licked at his lips and squinted, "They will do as you say?"**

**He smiled big, "Yeah. They want my business. It is a big honor and if I give them a good review, then they will get more work. So yeah they'll work with us." He looked the boy over. "The first few classes should be simple enough that we could have them come here, just till you are comfortable with them, OK?**

**"And if anything ever happens you have your orders. Right?"**

**The boy nodded nervously, it had worked last night.**

**"OK. So we good? The statement, 'I'll send you for more training' means to that we work together to find a nice teacher to give you more skills?" He waited for the boy to nod.**

**He bit at his lip, "Master, you'd get me a tutor for anything? Well, anything on the approved list," he added sheepishly. "If I ask?"**

**Jensen turned his head to look at his boy. What was he asking? "Within reason, yeah. As long as it helps you settle in and do your jobs around the house and with the kids... Yeah." He wanted to question the boy but knew it was important for the boy to come to him when he needed help. It would be so great if he came to Jensen just because he wanted something but he knew it might be years off.**

**Since it didn't seem like Jared was going to ask now he went on with the other thing he had to talk to the boy about. "Jared, you handled yourself so well last night."**

**A look of terror came over the boy but he repeated the phrase back. "Yes, Master, your slave handled itself well." But then he looked down and added. "But your slave overstepped and needs to relea..."**

**"No, Jared! No, that is not where I am going with this." He got up to sit on the coffee table so that he was directly I front of the boy. "You did great. I was very proud of you. You followed your rules and did just what I wanted.**

**"I just wanted you to know that next time I won't be so slow to act." He looked down and played with his hands, “See, he was the kid's grandfather. I didn't want to keep them apart because they have already lost their mom. So I was slow to act. It won't happen again. When he first tried to touch you, I should have said something. I'm sorry."**

**"Master?" he asked tentatively, was it OK for him to respond?**

**Jensen wiped at his eyes, "Yeah, you got a question?"**

**Jared tensed his jaw and ducked his head. "Your slave does not blame you." He was not sure how Master would feel but he felt he had to say it.**

**Jensen exhaled and rubbed his hands over his face. "You are too kind. What if I blame myself? You should not have been put through that. This is your home; it's supposed to be a safe place for you to be. I..."**

**"Master! Do not blame yourself; you have given your slave so much. Your slave does feel safe." He could sense that Jensen did not believe him. "Master, you made him stop. You did not change your mind once he started. That... that is more than your slave could ever have hoped for."**

**Jensen tipped his head to the side, "Really? That's it; I stopped him eventually so you're OK?"**

**The boy nodded and shared a real smile. "Yeah, I'm good."**

**Jensen started to pat his arm but then realized how unslavelike that sentence was and gave the boy his full attention. "Jared?" he exhaled.**

**The boy winked and brushed the hair out of his eyes again as his Master laughed aloud.**

**They would be OK. "OK. I get it no guilt trips. Got it. Now, seriously, any questions about last night? I know it was scary but you're fine?"**

**The boy nodded and looked away. He had been scared at first but after Master assured him that the man was gone, he had slept fine. There was one thing that did worry him though. He licked his lips, "Um, was it OK that your slave came out when Young Sir checked on it this morning?"**

**Master was nodding before he even finished asking the question. "Yes. Yes, definitely. I had been planning to let you sleep but it was a great surprise. How did it feel to you?" He asked after the fact. Nervous that the boy had forced himself to do something he was uncomfortable with just to please him or the boy.**

**The radiant smile proved that Jared had enjoyed the quiet time with the boy just as much as Joshy had enjoyed 'helping' make breakfast.**

**"Well that's good. Just remember that we typically only eat like that on the weekends, OK? You don't have to go to that much trouble every day." He patted his stomach. "I don't think my waistband would survive if you did. Plus, it is enough work just getting the kids up and going in the morning."**

**He looked the boy over. "I know that Joshy really liked you letting him help. That was very kind of you. Being the youngest is hard on him because there are not many things that he can do by himself. So I know it meant a lot to him."**

**Jared felt embarrassed by the praise. It had been fun talking with the young boy and letting him help had... Well been his way of gathering info on the family. Did he dare admit that? Would it weaken his case and make Master think less of him?**

**He nervously played with his fingers until Master took hold of his hands. "What is it?"**

**His chin quivered as he admitted, "Your slave needed his help, Master." Then he waited tensely for the reaction. When all Jensen did was squint and tips his head, Jared continued. "See, your slave did not know what everyone would prefer. And it needed help finding some items. And well, he really was a big help, sir. Your slave sorry if it overstepped."**

**Jensen moved his hand up to the boy's shoulder and gently squeezed. "Hey, how could I be mad at you letting him help if he was really a help?"**

**Jared looked down and tried to shake off the reasoning.**

**"Hey, eyes on me, if you can." He said gently and waited half a moment. "I love that you are using your resources. That is great. You never have to ask for something like that. And Joshy was so proud today. It's great that he really helped you and that you weren't just setting up situations to make him feel important. Because I know, I have done that many a time.**

**"It's fine that you came out when he checked on you. I was so surprised because he is my sleepyhead. It is fine that you talked with him. I know he can come up with some creative stories and questions so enjoy the stories and feel free to pushes off the hard questions."**

**He looked up with relief, "Yes, Sir, thanks." He had noticed the boy's knack for noticing details and was worried about how to tell him 'no'. "Master?" he asked hesitantly, "clarifying... comment?"**

**Jensen raised his eyebrows and nodded his permission, afraid to break this great moment with his words.**

**Jared licked his lips and brushed his hands through his hair once more, "Thank you, for all of this."**

**Jensen was so caught off guard that he let out a surprised little laugh. Then leaned back on the couch and made himself comfortable before reaching an arm over to squeeze Jared's shoulder. "Welcome home, Jared." Then handing him the remote for the TV he added, "Welcome home, my baby boy."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of part one. I hope you have enjoyed my world. again please check out my wonderful artist sammycolt24 and her wonderful work [art at LJ](http://sammycolt24.livejournal.com/13036.html)
> 
> I am working on Timestamps for this fic, please let me know if are any scenes you hope to see.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who has helped me get my first fanfic written and now posted here, without your motivation this would still be only a story in my head.
> 
> Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think.


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